The Fall of Minecraftia
by NilakantaDragonQueen619
Summary: Steve has lost someone close to him due to the evil intentions of the Kings that dwell in rather prosperous Kingdoms. He has been chased away, hired to be killed by an assassin. He survives, but wants to see them pay, and he gets help from the most unexpected of people and mobs. This will be the fall of Minecraftia...
1. Promises

Chapter 1

The sun was setting, painting the sea before him a deep shade of crimson. The setting of the sun and the sea calmed him, in a way. It was always peaceful. The waves would take his mind away from the raging thoughts inside and provided him with a rather unique quiet he considered...relaxing. This is where he usually spent the remainder of his days after a hard day's work from the mines. It was also probably the only place that accepted him.

He listened to the sound of the waves and reflected deeply, like he always did as he watched the sun sink lower into the sky. The only time he was ever upset was when he couldn't keep his promises.

 _Promises._ He remembered the only friend he had in childhood, the only one to care for him, and his friend had never used Steve's mining skills at his own advantage like the others did. His friend was the only one to keep his promises. This made him mad, and he had withdrawn from the kingdoms, refusing to stand for any of them after they took the only thing of value from him.

Steve knew a lot of things. He knew how to survive, to mine, to fight, to thrive. He knew how to do this whether he was with someone or alone. Steve eventually came to the conclusion that people weren't meant to be trusted. Sure, some were good, but most he had met were bad. Well, only as far as his experiences could tell him. Not everyone appreciated the miner, not only because he has grown rather anti-social, but because he didn't stand for any kingdom. This infuriated many, as Steve went where he pleased, mined as he wished and kept what he found. He was very good at what he did, everything learned from experience starting at a young age, long before his parents left him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't think of a reason as to why he couldn't remember them, not even their names or what they looked like.

He sighed, getting up from the shoreline. He looked at the sea longingly before he turned and headed towards the forest. He didn't know why, but he resented seeing the moon. It shone with such a pure light on everything, leaving no shadow unlike the sun, who shone it's light on everything and left the shadow to cower behind everything.

He walked through the forest, not caring about the occasional groan of a zombie, or the missed shot of a skeleton. He just kept walking, he kept his head low to avoid angering the tall black mobs. They kept to their business and he kept to his unless provoked. He continued down the gravel road until he reached a wooden structure. It was a fine design, unique for the use of various items during its construction and certainly his greatest creation yet. He walked in the door and went to his chest, depositing his latest finds from the mines in it before he headed to lay down on his bed.

As he closed his eyes he looked at the window and saw an Endermen looking at him with curious green eyes. _'How curious. Green eyes._ ' He thought, looking deep into the emerald eyes. The Endermen slightly bared it's teeth. At first he thought it was going to get enraged and quickly lowered his eyes. To his surprise, however, it only disappeared calmly.

The miner shook his head and closed his eyes, wondering what kind of a surprise could enlighten his day, as most of his days now were mostly dull and most he didn't look forward to.

* * *

The first rays of the sun were shining in his eyes. He yawned before stretching and then heaved himself out of his bed. His warmth stayed in the bed, but the suns growing rays of light provided him with the heat he needed. He grabbed a quick breakfast, then took his mining materials and head out for another solitary adventure.

He walked through the forest and came across his cave. He went down with care and skill, avoiding the most pointy rocks and keeping a close eye for the dangerous mobs and for the precious minerals. He walked down the tunnels of the mine he had been in for so long now, and eventually came across a split in the tunnel where one of the two paths was already lit and safe, while the other was rather dark and treacherous. He traveled down to his original mining spot, following the torches that lined the stone wall on his right.

Today, he was hoping for something new, something he didn't already have. Steve hoped he would find something that would help him greatly for a while, truthfully, he was hoping to find some diamonds. The temperature started to drop, and the further down he went the colder it became. He moved closer to the torches, wanting to stay in the light and to keep warm, but down in the caves, he knew it wouldn't last long. Light both attracted and repelled the mobs that lurked everywhere. It alerted them of a human, and it told them that they would most likely be slain and, either way, they were dangerous and sometimes stupid.

He came to the ledge of the cave, revealing a sheer drop. At the bottom he could see the small amounts of light through the thick mist that ensorcelled the ravine. It was his favourite place. Beside him the water gently streamed downwards into the thick mist, allowing him to descend rather safely. He jumped in and carefully made his way down. Once on the bottom, he kept to the edges of the high walls that made the ravine, not wanting the chance to fall into the boiling lava a few blocks from him.

' _I'll have to barricade this some time._ ' The miner thought to himself. He didn't want the risk of falling in, even with the water close by.

He was wandering down the path he had made for himself a long time ago, thinking of the song the dwarves used to sing as they mined, his father having taught it to him before his tragic depart. He started to hum the melody, then stated singing in a light, cheerful tone.

 _'Brothers of the mine rejoice!_

 _Swing, swing, swing with me!_

 _Raise your pick and raise your voice!_

 _Sing, sing, sing with me!_

 _Down and down into the deep,_

 _Who knows what we'll find beneath?_

 _Diamonds, rubies, gold and more,_

 _Hidden in the mountain store._

 _Born underground,_

 _Suckled from a teat of stone,_

 _Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home._

 _Skin made of iron, steel in our bones_

 _To dig and dig makes us free_

 _Come on brothers sing with me!_ '

He kept humming the tune and occasionally, he would sing the words with his light voice. He liked singing. His voice was soft from the lack of speaking, but was strong when he wanted to sing. He was filled with joy when he started singing the main chorus of the song. He didn't know why, but it warmed his heart. It was the song of the dwarves, but he didn't care, he liked singing to himself. It was something he could do quite well while working and he didn't mind it. He hummed the chorus, knowing it wasn't right for him to sing it, as the song was composed by the dwarves.

' _I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole,_

 _Diggy, diggy hole, diggy diggy hole,_

 _I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole,_

 _Diggy diggy hole, digging a hole_.'

He took great pleasure in singing this song as he mined for resources. The song rang true, the words echoing off the stone walls but not loud enough for anyone outside the cave to hear. He knew no one wanted to be near this particular cave, as some believe it is cursed with some powerful mob of some sort. Steve, however, wanted to see for himself. He continued with the song.

' _The sunlight will not reach this low,_

 _Deep, deep in the mine._

 _Never seen the blue moon glow,_

 _Dwarves won't fly so high._

 _Fill a glass and down some mead!_

 _Stuff your bellies at the feast!_

 _Stumble home and fall asleep,_

 _Dreaming in our mountain keep._

 _Born underground,_

 _Grown inside a rocky womb._

 _The earth is our cradle; the mountain shall become our tomb._

 _Face us on the battlefield; you will meet your doom!_

 _We do not ear what lies beneath,_

 _We can never dig too deep._ '

Steve again hummed the chorus, twice this time, feeling rather happy. He had a strong tie to the song, seeing as he loved to sing it with his father when he was a child, who believed the humans were once close cousins of the dwarves. He kept walking, stopping to grab the rather common coal ore, before resuming his walk. His words again bounced off the walls, making it sound like there actually was a chorus of dwarves singing happily while mining away.

' _Unlike us humans,_ ' Steve thought bitterly, ' _the dwarves cherished the resources they gained from their mines under the mountains. We kept it greedily for ourselves, only wanting to become stronger for no reason at all._ ' The miner huffed angrily, but nonetheless continued singing the cheerful tune of the dwarves.

' _Born underground,_

 _Suckled from a teat of stone._

 _Raised in the dark,_

 _The safety of our mountain home._

 _Skin made of iron, steel in our bones,_

 _To dig and dig makes us free!_

 _Come on brothers sing with me!_ '

Steve hummed the chorus twice again before reaching the end of his torch-lit cave. He was happy, having sung a mining song and found a few ores despite his rough week. Many people had tried to steal some of his stuff, but others simply insulted him. The kings however, were his greatest worry, for they could chose to send assassins after him. Everyone made him uncomfortable, so he strayed from society, becoming independent after Casroth...well. That's an event of the past he hoped not to remember. It was dreadful, but Casroth did more than prove the true intentions of the kings and their kingdoms. When Steve was done mining and about to head back to the top, he felt a cool current of gentle air come from behind him. It was possible it was a draft, but it would've been warm with the lava around.

He turned around and put his hand on the wall. It was moist, cold and sent a shiver down the miner's back. A strange sensation pulsed from the wall, coming off in what seemed like layers of pure energy. He felt something similar once, when he built his first portal.

' _Why would anybody build a portal all the way down here?_ ' He thought to himself. He reached a hand out and touched the surface of the stone again, pulling his hand back in shock. It couldn't be a portal, it didn't even feel remotely the same at all. This was pure and raw energy, coming from something more powerful than a Nether portal. Then again, it didn't even feel like a portal at all.

' _So what could it be? What could worth hiding in this unexplored and possibly abandoned mine?_ ' He thought to himself again. This was strange. He'd ventured here before, but had never felt the sensation until a few moments ago. It chilled him. His inventory was full, so he made a quick decision. He'd come back tomorrow. The mobs were growing agitated at his presence, so he would have to leave soon anyways.

He marked the spot with two torches, to make sure he wouldn't pass it by accident. He went back up to the surface, where he noticed the sun was starting to go down in the sky. He quickly made his way through the forest, taking an alternate route than the one that led to his house. He kept walking, his pace growing quicker as the sun touched the horizon. He broke into a run and soon burst out of the trees to stumble into an old cemetery. He made his way to the only tomb that held a name on the somewhat fresh surface of the stone.

His friend had been killed in the useless slaughter of an enraged king back when the miner had supported a rather prosperous kingdom. He had brought his friend out of the kingdom, as he was then gravely injured. He tried to get him back to full health, but it was something his friend was unable to do with his sickened body. Even despite being the previous Brainmaster for the kingdom, he was rejected for helping the only family he had, it being Steve. His friend was smart, yet that enraged the king. Now here he was. Buried six feet under the miners feet. He closed his eyes in respect for his fallen friend, then bend down and ran his hand across the smooth surface of the stone, whipping the grime that had accumulated on the stone over time off the name.

A single name spread across the surface, clear, easy to read with etched letters stretching from one end of the stone to the other.

"Rest in peace, my brother." Steve said, holding his hand to his heart while lowering his head. He usually never spoke, but this was always the exception. "Forgive me...Casroth."

He rubbed his neck, slipping the chain off and opened the metallic jewel that hung from the thin golden chain. A picture of two men stood on one side, their names carved on the other. He looked at the picture. One of the people was Steve, he was smiling happily with his arm wrapped around the other man. His face was a little shadowed, but he could never forget his features. He had always been pale and sickly, but he was kind and always offered his help and services. The man was always strong, despite his incurable sickness. That's what Steve had been drawn to. And his friend was drawn to him as well. As soon as they met, the two men could never be separated. They would miss each other too much otherwise.

The miners eyes watered a little, he missed his friend terribly. He quickly brushed the tears away before they could fall, and looked at the hanging jewel again. He looked at the names that had been carved to look intertwined into each other. It was barely recognizable, but he knew what was written.

'Steve and Casroth, brothers forever'.

He closed the jewel, and slipped the necklace back on his neck. Another jewel lay near him, similar to his own. He took a quick look. Steve had put Casroth's own jewel on his grave, or otherwise called the Standing Stone, to let him at least have something to represent him if any one came across his Stone.

The last light of the sun shone brightly on Casroth's jewel, making the transparent silver jewel turn a light shade of golden. Steve's jewel was hidden, as his back was turned from the sun, and so it instead turned a darker shade of grey as darkness crawled over the land.

He raised himself to his feet, taking one last look at the Standing Stone he made for his friend before turning to face the darkness as he headed home, trying to overcome the event that ultimately led to his friends - and possibly his own - death. In a way.

"Good - bye...my brother."


	2. Rememberance

Chapter 2

Steve lay on his bed, unable to sleep. His hand kept stroking the jewel that hung on the thin golden chain around his neck as he wondered what he could do the next day. The darkness had set in a few hours ago, revealing a moonless night. It was the perfect time to go hunting the mobs for resources, and it would provide him with the chance of venting off his anger and sorrow. He looked at the jewel, it's usual light and smooth surface now had a more dark and rough texture. He held it in his palm for a while before swinging his legs off the bed and walking to the window. He looked outside, smiling the small smile his friend had loved; the forest was full of mobs, mostly zombies and skeletons. A few creepers could be seen and no Endermen.

' _Perfect._ ' He thought, his smile broadening in the slightest. The miner moved to the closet furthest from the window and selected his weapon. He then went back to the window, his palm on the iron sword hanging from his hip. He didn't wear armor, as it would weight him down if he needed to make a quick escape. He didn't need it, either. He had knowledge and control, the only things that have kept him alive so far. He knew the mobs weaknesses, their stamina, their health, their strength and their damage. He would be fine.

He opened his door and went outside. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he made a dash to the forest. He hacked and slashed at anything to cross his path. The first being a zombie. As he hacked away at the mobs, he recalled how he met his friend.

* * *

Steve walked down the path that led to the kingdom at a leisurely pace, the wind brushing through his brown hair and tickling his skin. His clear purple eyes scanned the horizon, looking for any mobs that might've lingered or spawned around the Kingdom's outer walls. He passed a crystal lake, a flower garden, a small mine and a few of the Kingdom's pleasantries. Everything seemed to be fine, at the moment at least.

He saluted a few drunk guards as he passed by an inn. The sounds of laughter filled his ears as men huddled together to share their news, children sat by elders to hear the fascinating tales, and women prepared the food in the kitchens. He stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, filling his nostrils with the different scents of cooking pork, fresh bread, mushroom stew and steaming fish that lingered in the air. He smiled, noticing that everybody was happy, despite living in the lowest sector of the kingdom. They had each other, so they don't care if they're rich or poor. They made their money by selling the goods they produced on the farm or from loot they got from mob slaying.

The miner turned his head towards the sky that was slowly darkening and sighed. It was his turn to have night watch, but that didn't bother him. He was rather excited. He would patrol the outer walls at night, making sure everyone's sleep remained undisturbed by the dangerous mobs that lurked around, looking for any opening to attack and satisfy their dark hunger.

Steve wandered around, late after dark, searching for any of the damned creatures that might try themselves. And he found just the ones that did. He made quick work of them, sitting down to skillfully clean his blade with not a second wasted before resuming his patrol.

Guars would usually patrol the outer walls in groups of three or more, spreading themselves out to cover more ground. Steve, however, could cover more ground than three men. There for he worked alone. He had great stamina, health, pain endurance, and experience; which made his patrols a lot more easier than anyone else.

He was walking down the road that led to the boarders of the village when he heard a sharp scream coming from somewhere around the village square. He sprinted, following the cry that now echoed behind him, and burst into the town square. Dark lumps moved in the darkness, surrounding a rather frail looking man. Steve didn't have time to think. The only thing that ran through his mind was: _I must help. This person is in trouble._

He kept running, lifting his sword as he drew closer to the decaying mob. He let his sword drop, slicing through the rotten head with ease as he kicked another away from the frail looking man. Another came from behind, and he quickly shook his weapon free from the split head; the body fell unmoving to the ground. He jumped over the man, who was crouched down low and clearly frightened, and sliced the zombies torso. The mob groaned, reaching out a hand, before falling dead to the solid stone brick road. A groan came from behind him and he instinctively threw his sword towards the sound. A satisfying crunch and a thud told the miner the mob was good and dead. He turned to the man, who gazed around in wonder. Finally he eyed Steve, standing before him, unscathed by the zombies.

"Th-thanks." He stammered, looking at Steve in awe. Steve retrieved his sword, pulling it from the mobs face with slight difficulty before whipping it clean. He sheathed it and turned to face the frail man he had saved before responding.

"No problem." He said with his small smile, offering his hand to the frightened man, who accepted. "I'm just doing my job. Don't fret too much about it." He continued to stare at Steve in awe, unable to take his eyes off the miner's purple ones. The miner noticed this and his smile slightly broadened, he even chuckled a little. He turned and started walking down the road again, somehow knowing the man would follow him.

"Wait!" He heard footsteps approaching him, and the man was soon next to Steve, staying close to him as thought he was scared of another attack. Steve turned to actually look at the man.

He was frail all right, his white shirt hung loose on his thin frame and his black pants where a little baggy. He wore a transparent silver jewel that hung from a thin golden chain and a silver bracelet that wrapped twice around his wrist. His hair was pitch black, making his light blue eyes stand out by contrast, even in the darkness.

"So, what are doing outside at a time like this?" Steve wondered. He usually never saw anybody outside during the night hours. He was also curious about the lack of weaponry on the man. It was dangerous to go anywhere without a weapon, and it was certainly dangerous to go anywhere at all.

"Well..." He started, he rubbed the back of his head and flashed a guilty smile at Steve. "I was having a hard time concentrating in my house, with all the ruckus and all going on outside, so I decided to go out into the forest where things were significantly calmer. I didn't realize how fast time flew by 'cause the sun was already starting to set. I could hear mobs start crawling around in the forest and by the time I got to the village it was well past twilight. I tried to go home without attracting the mobs but..." He faltered, lowering his gaze from Steve's purple eyes.

"It didn't turn out so well?" The miner finished. The man nodded, still not meeting Steve's eyes.

"Yeah. I should've paid more attention, the woods being dangerous and all with the mobs lurking in every corner." The man scoffed himself. Steve nodded in understanding. He had gone through similar things during his first days as a miner.

"What were you doing in the forest anyways? What had you so distracted that time flew by you so easily? I hear it's hard to do that without working on the farms nowadays."

"I was writing a song." The man answered, his face lighting up so suddenly he put the torches to shame. His smile outshone the full moon that hovered over their heads. Steve was suddenly drawn by this man. He knew he was honest, kind, and friendly. Steve smiled again, wondering what it was like to have a friend with those qualities. His old friends merely used him for his abilities, then tossed him aside.

"Writing a song?"

"Yeah, I'm a composer. Writing songs is my favourite thing to do. I could write as much as I wanted and never get tired of it." He sighed contently, putting his hands in his pockets while breathing the cool night air.

Steve looked around, trying to figure out where the man lived. He took a few turns, the man going on about all the wonderful songs he had written and how many people enjoyed them. He even spoke about getting into the kingdom and serving as the King's Brainmaster. This made Steve chuckle.

"Brainmaster? I've never heard of the term before." Steve looked at the man. He stared at Steve like he couldn't believe his own hears.

"Are you serious? How can you not know what a Brainmaster is?" The man was certainly stunned. "A Brainmaster is someone who can travel to all the kingdoms and act as almost every King's top adviser. It's the most amazing privilege any adviser could ever dream of having. They take care of all the battle plans, the storage... Hell, they can almost compare themselves to Kings!"

"That does seem interesting." Steve murmured. The man still looked surprised, then disappointed. "Don't be disappointed. I spent most of my time in the mines. I don't usually stick around to get to know all the fancy terms like you do." This seemed to clear up a lot, for the man nodded and raised his head a little higher. Steve turned a last corner and stood in front of a nicely furnished house. It was well kept and in very good condition. The man looked surprised.

"Oh, thanks. I didn't even know you knew where I lived."

"Well, I saw you a few times when I was hanging around town after my mining trips." Steve shrugged. "I took a quick guess and look, I was right." The man only gaped silently. He seemed impressed, not really but Steve could tell.

"Can I know what your name is, by the way? In case we ever, you know, meet up again?" The man suddenly asked, looking at Steve. He was curious. The man didn't look like much, but the miner knew not to let appearances deceive him. He knew for a fact that the man was smarter than he let on, as he had gotten himself out of the forest with not a single scratch, and the forest was teeming with mobs.

"Steve." He held out his hand. The man took his hand and shook it. He turned to his house and let out a loud sigh. He turned his head to Steve, and smiled.

"Well, it's been nice to meet you, Steve." He said. "I hope to see you soon, my friend." He turned towards the house again and started up the stairs. Steve reached out a hand, placing it on the man's shoulder, catching him before he reached the door.

"Wait, you haven't told me your name yet." The man looked momentarily surprised and smiled sheepishly. Steve was even more drawn in by his features. They were so cheerful and full of life, despite his weakened appearance, but his eyes were what captivated Steve the most. Their twinkle seemed able to rival the stars, and their brightness was enough to outshine the moon.

"Oh, my bad. I keep forgetting every time I meet someone new." He took Steve's hand and shook it again, looking deep into his violet eyes. The man's blue eyes twinkled, slightly reflecting the moon's glow.

"My name is Casroth."

* * *

Steve slashed through a zombie, spun around and delivered a killing blow to a skeleton. He then ran, ramming any mob that happened to be in his way. He remembered the way his friend had said his name, the way his smile put the torches to shame, and the way his eyes sparkled...

' _Focus._ ' He shook his head, scolding himself. He stopped running, hefting his sword towards any and all threats. He looked at the few remaining mobs that were inching their way towards him, taking note of two zombies and a creeper. The miner advanced, catching a glimpse of glowing green eyes somewhat hidden by the dark trunks of the trees in the dense forest. Nevertheless he continued forward, plunging his sword into the gut of the nearest zombie. The second zombie came closer, raising his rotting hands, thirsting for fresh blood.

As the fiend swung his decaying hand towards the miner, he bent down, put his hand on the ground and swung his legs at the zombies feet. The fiend fell to the ground with a loud thud just as Steve's sword came free and the miner managed to get up, raising his sword to kill. As the sword came down on the zombie, dark brown blood spewed on the ground and stained his sword. He groaned, it was going to be hard to clean his blade. Zombie blood was infectious, as it would make any blade's durability decrease terribly, even if it was brand new. If any got in your wounds, it would create an infection and degrade the body's health and regeneration speed. Yeah, zombie blood was terrible.

He looked around for the skeleton, but there was no sign of him except the few arrows that lay scattered along with the bow a few blocks from him. He sighed, disappointed that the mobs had fled from the area. He shrugged, carefully cleaning his blade before the blood dried and walked home. The sky was still dark, yet getting darker as dawn approached. He sighed again, suddenly wanting the warm comfort of his bed and found himself jogging to get out of the woods.

Once he saw his house, he broke into a run and burst the door open, slamming it shut afterwards. He climbed onto his bed, throwing his sword down onto a nearby chair in the process, and closed his eyes. He yearned his sleep, but wasn't excited about the dreams that haunted him...


	3. Target 02

Chapter 3

The miner twisted and turned in his bed. Reliving the nightmare that had cost more than just a life. He screamed and sat bolt upright, huffing and sweating. He looked around, the sun was just above the horizon and he relaxed after a few moments of breathing.

' _It was only a dream._ ' He told himself. He seemed to tell himself this too often, as the nightmare appeared every night. It tormented him like nothing else could. He didn't want to relive the past, yet he was unable to forget it nor forgive himself. He was unable to let it go. He wouldn't let it go. He looked outside again, wondering what he could do again for the day.

He climbed out of bed and grabbed some bread off the table, deep in thought for the day's events. Maybe he could visit a settlement of villagers, do some work and trade with them. Maybe after that he could go down into the underground ravine and get some more ores to complete his unfinished set of diamond tools. Maybe even find some emeralds to favor the villagers and they would accept him... He stopped himself mid-thought.

' _What am I thinking?!_ ' He scolded himself fiercely, grabbing both sides of his head with his hands, letting his chin drop down and touch his chest. ' _I've already tried that and they rejected me without hesitation! How can I possibly think of trying again?! After they rejected me like they did? After they heard what happened to Casroth what did they do? Did they try and make you feel better?_ ' He sat on his chair, removing the iron sword that was previously seated there from last night, and put his hands on his knees and let his hands support his head.

' _NO!? They plain rejected me. They didn't ask, they didn't worry, they didn't care! They rejected me, the man that protected their village better than anyone else ever could! The man that ensured their sleep was never disturbed. They threw me out like a broken toy. They discarded me. All except one shed tears for me, even if he was long gone. Even if he wasn't physically there, for the rain was pouring for days afterwards..._ ' Steve sighed loudly. He shook his head, wanting to get his mind off the past. The miner then got up from his chair, recalling a song is brother had composed to lift his mind of the dark thoughts and make him feel better. He smiled sadly, remembering the words and the melody as he went about his daily business.

' _I can see every tear you've cried,_

 _Like an ocean on your eyes._

 _All the pain and the scars have left you cold._

 _I can see all the fears you've face_

 _Through a storm that never goes away_

 _Don't believe all the lies that you've been told._ '

He remembered the words his brother had taught him. They were clear in his mind. He sang them as he worked on his farms in the morning, lighting up the rest of his day. His brother had shown him many of his famous songs that always made people happy. Most of those songs now were passed down to Steve, and Steve held them as precious as diamonds. It was one of the only good memories he had left to remember his brother. The jewel being another.

' _I'll be right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down._

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls,_

 _I won't let go._

 _I'll be right here._ '

The song reminded him so much of his brother, as he always sang it to Steve every time he saw the miner was feeling down. The song had always made Steve better, and so did seeing his friend. He didn't really care for many people, but Casroth had drawn Steve like zombies to fresh blood. Most of the time, Steve was trying to help Casroth, but it always ended up being the other way around. Casroth would always be taking care of Steve. It made the man smile to remember and have such a nice memory to forever hold close to his heart.

' _I will show you the way back home,_

 _Never leave you all alone._

 _I will stay until the morning comes._

 _I'll show you how to live again,_

 _and heal the brokenness within._

 _Let me love you when you come undone._ '

That was when Casroth had made Steve his brother, the man had practically adopted him. They took care of each other, looked out for each other. They did everything together. This was Steve's favourite part of the song, as it described Casroth's actions pretty well. He was always there, when one had a nightmare, the other was there to comfort him. They showed each other their living styles, comparing them and naming the differences. They mended what was previously broken in each other. They never hid secrets from each other, they weren't afraid of being judged from the other, as they would only got more advice. The song always, and would forever afterwards, warm Steve's heart as it did now.

' _I'll be right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down,_

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls,_

 _I won't let go_

 _I'll be right here._ '

When he was finished tending to the farm, Steve went to collect wood. The house was well kept but Steve wanted to make some additions and renovate the basement. It would burn some time before he wanted to set out to the nearest village. He thought of the last moments with Casroth and how his last words were part of this song. The memory almost made Steve cry, as the pain he had endured then was worse than any he had ever felt. Losing someone to such a fate that Casroth had the misfortune of having was certainly painful. It was worse than any physical pain. There was nothing Steve could compare it to.

' _When daybreak seems so far away,_

 _Reach for my hand._

 _When hope and peace begin to fray,_

 _Still I will stay..._

 _Right here now_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down,_

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls I won't let go_

 _When the rain falls I won't let go_

 _I'll be right here._ '

Steve almost lost his concentration, as he was lost in thought. Casroth would've patted him on the back and asked what was wrong. Nothing could convince Casroth that nothing was wrong, if something seemed different he would push to know an answer, but he didn't have to, as Steve never kept a secret from his brother. Neither did Casroth.

After he collected a fair amount of wood, he went inside to make quick changes to his basement, which didn't take long, as it was missing a few wooden planks to complete the flooring. After he made a few simple and quick changes to his basement, he went to his closet on the main floor and took his cloak, setting it on the chair as he prepared his bag.

He only placed a few ingredients, a few blank books, extra pages, leftover ores and mostly emeralds. He nodded in satisfaction, grabbing his cloak from the chair and clipping it on. He swung his bag over his shoulder, but hesitated before opening the door. He looked around and found his sword where he had left it on the floor. He swiftly took the hilt and sheathed it skillfully, making his way outside and walking along the path he had created some time ago. He walked down the path for at least half an hour, humming the song that represented his brother in so many ways, until the path ended and he stood staring down onto a small village.

He went down the hill carefully, pulling his hood low over his head, and went into the village. He spoke to a few of the villagers seeking someone willing to trade. He spoke to a priest, a butcher, a blacksmith, and a librarian. Few were willing to trade, but some noticed the bag of goodies on the man's shoulder and accepted the trade, receiving the emeralds as a token of appreciation for their kindness to accept the trade. Steve noticed another man besides him trading with the villagers. He looked different, for he was heavily armed, and he looked too well dressed to be from anywhere around this village.

The man looked around while talking to the villagers and spotted Steve. The man was disturbing. As his face was also hooded and he wore thick clothing, possibly to conceal weapons or precious goods. Steve was suspicious of the man, not wanting to have to fight, as he noticed he was from royalty. Either as a guard, a son, or a worker. As much as Steve wanted the kings to pay for what they did, he didn't want to risk having a kingdom searching for him with the intention to either capture or kill. He started walking back to the forest, thinking of taking a small detour to get to the path that led to his house, when he accidently bumped into the man's shoulder.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, man." The man scolded. Steve turned and faced the man, who's hand went to move the long clothing from his side to reveal two swords hanging on his hip, trying to intimidate Steve into apologizing. Steve stared hard at the man, showing his own iron sword, trying to indicate he can fight as well if that's what the man really wanted.

The man snarled at him. "Get going before I call the Guard and haul your ass to prison for disrespecting a member of the Third Order Royalty." Steve hastily turned around again and continued on his way back to the path that led to his house. He suspected the man, as he claimed himself to be a member of the Third Order Royalty. That was the kingdom to have taken Casroth from him. The kingdom responsible for all that had happened. For all that _has_ happened.

He walked away, feeling anger starting to itch it's way to the surface. He wanted to vent it off, to get rid of it. Honestly, he only wanted to kill the man where he stood, but that would only put him into a more dire situation, as there are witnesses around and could very well report him to the kingdoms. He would be hunted and charged with murder. But that realization only made his anger worse, as he wasn't to blame for the source of his anger. If the kings hadn't done what they had done, well, he wouldn't be here now. And Casroth would probably still be with him.

He picked up his pace, wanting to put distance between him and the kingdoms as fast as possible. He took a little detour, wanting to make sure no one was following. It paid off to be cautious sometimes. He went down the mountain, coming onto the path again. Feeling satisfied he followed it back home, dropping all the things he had earned, mainly beef he traded from the butchers, among other things. He set his cloak and bag aside, grapping his pickaxe before heading out again.

He stared down the second path, it leading to the cave where he mined. He glanced at the third path, which led to the Standing Stone that belonged to his friend. He paused for a second, debating whether or not to visit it before heading out to the caves. He'd visit it tonight anyways. The miner started walking down the second path, walking rather slowly. He was drawn back into the past for a while, trying to sort out what happened that night. The sun was slowly setting, it being a little past noon.

 _Snap!_ A twig snapped and by instinct the miner pulled out his sword, ready to defend against anything. A rustle of movement got his attention somewhere to the left. He cautiously looked over, thinking it might be a mob, maybe a zombie, but it was plain daylight still. Even under the cover of trees, it was unlikely to have a zombie in the forest in full daylight. What happened next, surprised him greatly, as he did not expect this.

"Hey, didn't think you would live out here all by your lonesome." Someone came out from under the dark trees, revealing himself to be the man who claimed to be a member of the Third Order Royalty. He smiled under his hood. "Must be tough to live alone, _Steve._ " The man hissed his name, sending a slight shiver down the miner's spine. How did this man know him? It confused Steve, as he was trying to intimidate Steve back at the village, but now the man was more relaxed and composed.

"How have you been? How's your friend? I hope he's okay." The man was mocking Steve and Steve knew it. Hi tone told him as much. With his brother's permanent condition, it was impossible for his brother to heal after such a wound and so his fate was sealed. Now this man is making fun of that and Steve didn't appreciate it. Not one bit.

"Well, you've been a pretty big issue in the kingdom. You put a lot of stress on the king, as he fears you will tell someone and rise up against us." The man flicked his wrist and a sharp, thin, clean blade came from inside his clothes. ' _A hidden blade?_ ' Steve thought without comfort. The blade alone meant it was an assassin. So he was to be assassinated now? That was interesting. He couldn't fight an assassin, they were well trained, talented with all kinds of weapons, and this one had armor.

Steve started to slowly back away, wanting so bad now to get to the cave, as he figured he would not lose him otherwise. The miner swiftly turned around and made a wild dash; it was a bad move, as the assassin could take the opportunity to kill him, but for some reason didn't. He just laughed and dashed after him.

"So you're going to run now, are you?" He taunted, laughing again and pulled out another blade.

"Why?" He tried to shout, slightly coughing in the process, not used to shouting so loud. He weaved through the trees, trying to delay the assassin a little. He saw the opening of the cave and he saw hope. It was slim, but it was there. He sped up to his maximum, reaching the cave. He jumped over the rocks and stone in his way as the miner came across the intersection. He chose the non-lit cave, as it would give him the chance of getting rid of the damned assassin.

"That's because you are Target 02." The man said, a slight hiss to his voice as he started to get tired of running. Steve was almost out of breath, and he stumbled a few times. This meant others were also targeted for assassination. People were classified in either Target 01 to Target 10, ranking 01 for most important to least important. ' _Target 02? Who are the others?_ ' Many people could there for be named Target 02. He ran for a while, taking twists and turns until he heard water and felt faint air currents. This opened up to another section of the ravine, which was probably unexplored. The lack of light told the miner as much.

He suddenly turned, bringing out his sword and stepped aside, the assassin barely stopped himself from tripping to a halt. Steve rammed his sword on the assassin's own blade. The face-off Steve had almost dreamed of since he met the man at the village began, the assassin was struggling at the sudden and unexpected attack from his prey. He smirked despite the circumstances.

"Who are the other targets?" Steve said, eyeing the man with such a dangerous glint and if looks could kill, this man would've been dead and buried six feet under. The man brought out his other sword, trying to catch Steve off guard, but he expected it. They clashed weapons for a time, before the assassin drew back and smiled devilishly.

"Target 03 has been dead for a while. You should well know by now. You visit his grave every night." Steve stared forward again, angry at the assassin for making fun of his friend. The assassin stepped back again, and sheathed one of his swords. Steve grew suspicious. A hand then grasped his angle pulling it from underneath him and he tumbled, nearly falling off the edge. The hand jerked again, and the miner grabbed the ledge to prevent himself from falling.

"Target 01 is someone that would be terribly disastrous if he ever caught wind of our plan. It is safer to dispose, or rather contain, him than it would be to destroy him. He is powerful and could demolish the world with a snap of his fingers if he wanted to. So far, we can't find him, so there's no need to worry, for now." The assassin chuckled as he stepped forward. The hand that held his ankle removed itself as that someone scaled the wall easily and stood next to the assassin. They looked similar, but they wore different colours. ' _Another assassin?_ '

"It's too bad you're going to die here, Steve, by our hands." The second assassin mocked, putting his foot on Steve's hands and pushed down on them. Steve stifled a scream, not wanting to give them the satisfaction. He was, however, growing tired and his fingers were slipping. He tried to hold on tighter, but the assassins decided otherwise. They both put a foot on Steve's hands, and pushed forward. His hands slipped and he felt wind race in his ears. The miner tried to scream but the sensation around him prevented him from even drawing breath. The assassins grew smaller and smaller, smirking at their cheated victory. He heard a faint laugh and a few familiar words.

"Good - bye... Steve."


	4. Back Again

Chapter 4

* * *

"Steve, don't leave me all alone. Stay with me, please."

* * *

Something hooked his shirt and pulled him up, but the current only pulled him back down again to choke on the clear water. Even if it was dark, he thought he saw the emerald eyes of the black mob standing somewhere near him. Something sharp hooked his shirt again and kept him from flowing on with the current. He choked on the water, gasping for breath but only sucked more in. He tried to fight against the current to get to the surface, to get air. A sharp tug pulled his head above the water and he grabbed a lung-full of air, coughing out the water. He rested on the edge of the stream, his hands holding the edge with a death like grip, not wanting to get caught in the current again. He was lucky to have landed in water. If he had landed on anything else he would've died.

He coughed again, drawing long, deep breaths and eventually looked around to get his bearings. He knew he's never been here before, as it would otherwise be lit up with torches. Being this deep in the caves was always cold; in addition to swimming involuntarily in cold water made it even colder, since there was no light and no warmth. He looked around quickly before hauling himself out of the cold water, unable to suppress a shiver.

He stumbled around blindly, eventually touching something with his foot. He fumbled to touch it and thankfully realized that it was his sword; picking it up hastily, feeling comfort for having at least a little protection. He could feel himself shaking from the cold, gentle drafts of cool air made him shiver even more. It felt like winter, only without the snow. He continued along, tripping over unseen rocks ledges and sudden short drops down, trying to find his way about in the darkness. He was getting colder, however, and his movements not doing much to keep him warm. He was getting exhausted fast, and soon he stopped to rest, even if the miner knew it wasn't a smart idea; he was cold and needed to keep moving. But he was getting tired and he only wanted to rest for a short time.

"Vlurp. Vlurp."

The miner opened his eyes and saw the emerald eyes hovering above him. He tried to back up but he was leaning against a wall, shivering and exhausted. Something was dropped on Steve, the eyes never leaving his own, and the man immediately felt warmth spread through him. He touched the item, wanting to know what it was. It was warm, soft, and large. He thought he felt a hood somewhere and assumed it was a cloak.

' _But why?_ ' Mobs are merciless creatures that hunt down humans, so why was this one helping him? After the first few encounters with the green-eyed Endermen he found him interesting, as he wasn't enraged when Steve looked him in the eye. He quickly found the hood of the cloak and slipped it on his shoulders, feeling the warmth spread through him. The Endermen dropped something bright down and looked at Steve expectantly. He made strange sounds and moved a little backwards, as if indicating he wasn't going to attack or harm the miner.

Steve was momentarily blinded, as it must've been a few hours since the assassins threw him down the ravine, but he reached out and touched the wooden handle. He hesitated instinctively, but reached out and grabbed the handle. The torch shone brightly, and he felt a little safe, but if the assassins were still around they could find him easily. He put it in his inventory, and the light went out. The Endermen tilted his head, indicating confusion.

"Assassins are after me and they could find me easily if I had a torch in the darkness." He croaked, his throat still sore from coughing the water earlier. The Endermen stopped tilting his head, and turned around, walking away from the human. Steve was surprised when the Endermen stopped and turned to look at Steve, as if he wanted the miner to follow him. Steve raised himself, and hesitantly took a step towards the Endermen. Suddenly he hissed as Steve took his sword. Panicked, Steve quickly sheathed his sword, the hiss coming down to a low growl as the Endermen turned around again and started walking. Steve hurriedly went after him, not wanting to be alone when suddenly he vanished, leaving the miner alone in the darkness again.

Steve sighed heavily and continued onwards, now feeling warmer and somewhat rested. He still couldn't see in the darkness, but his eyes were growing used to it rather slowly. He went somewhat slower than before, careful to avoid the sharp rocks that jutted out everywhere.

* * *

It's been a few hours since he saw the Endermen, and he was starting to get a little tired again. He stopped near a little ledge and closed his eyes. He didn't rest long, because sounds came to him, echoing off the stone walls. People were in the caves. No one knew about the caves but him and...and the assassins. That meant they were back. He had to get moving. Usually assassins were quiet, quick and deadly. These ones were more clumsy, and a little talkative but proved themselves to be deadly nonetheless. He quickly got up, taking his pickaxe and made a rather quick staircase to get down to the lower level. He started to jog, not wanting the assassins to find him again. Soon however, he stated to run.

"Over there!" A voice cried. Clothing shuffled and feet stumbled as people were running. Steve suddenly felt panicked and started running faster. He drew his sword, knowing a close up battle was soon going to take place sometime. He kept running, not knowing where he was going. He heard a short _whizz!_ and felt something implant itself into his shoulder as pain exploded and he stumbled before catching himself on a rock ledge. It wasn't just hurting, but now it was starting to burn a little as his shoulder pulsed. He knew it was risky, but he grabbed the arrow by the shaft, and tried to yank it out. He stifled a cry, his good arm was practically wrapped around his wounded shoulder as he tried to pry out the arrow that the assassins shot him from behind with.

He didn't have time to do so, and he started running again, the assassins being close behind him now. How did they know he was still alive? How long has it been since he fell down the ravine? Time flew by down in the caves. The miner found it surprising that there was not a single pool of lava around to light his way. There was only a few patches of water here and there. He ran, hearing the soft footfalls of the assassins following close behind. He heard the drawing of swords as the assassins drew closer and didn't stop until he was sure they were right behind him. He spun around, catching them by surprise but sadly not off-guard.

Their swords collided, creating loud echoes that continuously bounced off the cave walls. Steve could see a vague outline of the assassins, as his eyes were staring to adjust to the darkness. He wasn't sure about the assassins though, as they seemed to be well coordinated despite being in the dark. He struck again and again, waiting to hit something other than iron as both assassins hammered their own against his. He waited and saw his chance. He swung and suddenly, he fell to the ground and swung at one of the assassins legs, hitting flesh and getting a below from the man before hearing a satisfying thud as the man fell to the ground.

"AH! Damn it!" He cried. Steve turned his attention to the other, wondering where he went. He heard a chuckle from behind him and quickly turned around, raising his sword in defense. The opposing sword slammed against his and slid down his blade's length, creating an awful scrapping sound that hurt the miner's ears. He heard another blade being drawn behind him and tried to shove the weight of the man off him. The second assassin had him pinned though and Steve instinctively moved his weight to the right, a sharp sting made him grimace as a small blade grazed his side.

He fell to the floor just as a gust of wind went by his face. The miner rolled, immediately regretting it as the arrow in his shoulder just got pushed further in, making him cry out in pain. He felt warm blood rush down his back as he struggled to stand again. He heard the unsheathing of blades, and turned to look at the vague outlines of the assassins. He shouldn't be standing, as Steve had cut his legs to a painful point, yet he wasn't grunting or crying in pain anymore.

"How can you stand? I-..." Steve gaped. He was cut off by a rough laugh that echoed terribly against the stone in the ravine and felt a sharp stinging on his back. He sharply cried, being cut off by a cough that racked his body. He felt around the pained spot, and pulled out the object with a low grunt, knowing from the smooth wooden handle it was a knife. He chucked it on the floor, only to feel another puncture the opposite side of his back. The miner fell back down, trying to remove the new knife as he cried out again. After having removed the second knife, the assassin stepped forward and dropped something. It hit the floor with a hollow clank and it dawned on Steve that the assassin had used a potion to heal himself.

"Potions, Steve." He chuckled. His friend stepped forward and kneeled by Steve, kicking his sword away before reaching for the arrow in his shoulder. "You should use some too." A dark chuckle almost shook the cave as the miner felt the arrow shift, then being roughly pulled out. Steve screamed as the pain in his shoulder exploded and burned intensely. He tried to get up but the assassins prevented him by each placing a boot on the wounded miner. They pressed down hard on the wounds, making Steve squirm from the pain. He felt drenched in blood, as the several wounds were being squeezed and stretched. He tried to pry their boots off, but they were stronger than him now. He was weakened, hungry and exhausted. They pressed down harder and the pain almost overwhelmed Steve.

Suddenly the force was released. "What was that?" They shifted uncomfortably, their boots slightly twisting the wounds as they looked around.

"There! Did you see that?" One of the assassins exclaimed.

"See what?" Using this distraction, the miner brought out the knife he had just recently pulled out from his back and threw it at one of the dark outlines he could see. A pained grunt came from behind him and the assassins boots came down on him again with more pressure. He couldn't focus on anything anymore, the pain being too great. Suddenly the pressure was removed completely.

"Green eyes." Came a calm voice; it was, however, filled with fear. A loud hiss came from somewhere in front of Steve and he looked up to see a blur of green hovering above him. The assassins were quick to back away, as they didn't know what it was that was standing in front of them. They didn't however, leave.

"Now, what do you suppose that is?" Came a shaky voice.

"No idea. You think we can kill it?" Came another. A snort came from the first assassin along with an inaudible murmur. They both advanced with weapons drawn when suddenly, a loud screech came from the Endermen. The men were momentarily frozen in place until the green-eyed mob advanced. They had obviously never seen anything like this and ran, each going their separate ways in fright. The mob continued his screech until both assassins were out of sight. He then turned to the human that was trying to get up, but unsuccessfully kept falling back down. Eventually, the mob saw the human get up on his hands and knees.

"Vlurp. Vlurp." He came closer to the human, noticing all the blood that was splattered on the stone floor, his glowing green eyes illuminated part of the floor in front of him. The human managed to get to his feet and leaned heavily on the stone wall next to him. The Endermen looked around curiously and saw the iron sword laying a few feet in front of the human. He teleported to his desired area and kicked the sword over. The human looked at it hesitantly before picking it up and leaned on it heavily as he made his way down the ravine once again, never noticing that the Endermen had left him again.

An hour later, Steve stopped and sat down to rest. The burning sensation in his shoulder was intensifying and spreading. The burning feeling was spreading very slowly and it was agonizing. He tried to stay awake, as he feared he would never wake up again, but he just wasn't able to fight off the exhaustion and he fell into deep slumber.

* * *

"Steve, please wake up. Wake up, silly."


	5. And Again

Chapter 5

"So, how's our little guest?" A deep voice resonated off the walls surrounding the being that spoke. The room was dark, obscuring his face and part of his torso. The voice sounded multiplied, making it sound like there was at least two people talking at the same time, but it didn't bother the green-eyed mob as he had grown used to it. If the being was angry, his voice would've sound a lot worse.

The green-eyed mob bowed before answering. The man nodded, appearing satisfied with the answer. His smile matched his eyes. The being now appeared lost in thought, looking spaced out as he watched the ceiling for a few moments. Then he turned towards the mob, still smiling.

"Keep an eye on him, will you?" He said, his multiplied-like voice echoed off the walls and slowly faded out. He chuckled a little as he watched the Endermen nod, bow and vanish into little green particles. He continued to chuckle as he looked up to the ceiling, lost in thought once again.

* * *

"What in the name of the Nether was that?" One of the two assassins said fearfully. They had just come out of the cave and immediately called for reinforcements. Now, they waited for their backup to arrive. The mob was going to be a problem if it kept sticking around the target. They looked at each other, still gasping for breath after their run from the mine a little while ago. None dared to speak until now.

"I have no idea. It was different than the others." The other looked at his partner. He was wheezing, but managed to spit out the rest. "It didn't have purple eyes and it didn't have the same bad temper when looked in the eye. It was different in general." He huffed, sitting down to wait for the others to arrive.

"It almost looked as if he was protecting the target." The assassin left standing looked at the other, hoping he was thinking the same thing. Instead he got a glare from his companion as he pulled out a piece of cooked pork, ready to chomp down on it.

"Impossible. Mobs can't be domesticated." He snorted. He started eating the pork, adding between mouthfuls. "Especially creepers. Zombies are dumb and everybody hates spiders. Nobody likes Endermen because if you make eye contact, even accidently, they get enraged and start attacking the living Nether out of you." He quieted down, chomping down on his pork as he murmured to himself, having made his point clear.

The other was about to respond when a small ringing sound could be heard coming from his pocket. He fumbled around a little with his thick clothing, and eventually pulled out a small device. A rough voice came from it and the man nodded.

"What did the commander have to say?" Having finished his pork, the assassin lifted himself off the ground and walked around, impatient for the reinforcements to arrive.

"They said they would be here soon." The other assassin said excitedly. He looked at his partner for a brief moment before continuing. "Do you think our target is dead by now?" He knew they had shot him with an arrow, which they had poisoned beforehand, and he also knew they had hit him in the darkness. Depending on where they hit him would determine if he was alive or not.

"Depends. He might still be alive." The other paced, his impatience showed in his position and his fading mood. He drew a knife and examined it before grabbing a rock, sitting down again, and running the rock across the blade, sharpening his weapon. "Even if he was dead, we'd have to go back down anyways to make sure he's dead. Otherwise the King will have our heads if he ends up coming back again." He huffed, never taking his eyes off the blade.

"What do you suppose we do?" He got another glare from his companion, but this time it was annoyance.

"Easy. We wait for reinforcements, then all got down together and find the target. If the Endermen is in the way, we can take him out with our superior numbers and brute strength. I _highly_ ," He emphasised the word and looked at his partner again. " And I mean, _highly_ , doubt either of them will make it out alive."

* * *

He jolted awake when something sharp touched his arm. He looked up and saw nothing, to his disappointment. He almost wanted to see the green eyes of the Endermen, as they somehow gave him comfort. He was alone now, and he was in a lot of pain. The arrow he had taken to the shoulder stung, the sensation now encompassed his arm, and starting to agonizingly crawl across his torso. He raised himself up, slowly, as the wounds caused by the assassins knives were sensitive to the slightest movement. He cringed with every step he took.

The miner slowly made his way further into the cave, wanting desperately to get away from the assassin before they undoubtedly came back again. He was getting cold again, as his cloak was torn from the weapons, letting the cold air carry the warm air he had away. He stopped to rest a short time after, feeling nauseous and dizzy. He got up again and started making his way when he heard the shuffle of feet echo across the ravine. He picked up his pace a little, but almost fell down as his wounds opened again from the sudden jerk of surprise. He felt warm blood trickle down his already sticky back.

The sounds got louder until Steve could've sworn they were already behind him. The barks of dogs echoed loudly. It would be impossible to hide once they found all the blood on the floor from his previous encounter with the assassins. Suddenly the barks got louder and louder until he turned around to feel a dog jump on him and start gnawing viciously on his arm. He wailed in pain, as the dog had decided to grab his poisoned arm to chew on. He reached for his sword and plunged it into the dog, who yelped and squirmed before finally laying down dead. He heard a snarl to behind him and was knocked down as another dog jumped on him, knocking him down as well as wrenching his sword from his grasp. The dog started chewing on his other arm, and he lacked the strength to knock off the heavy animal from his back. The dog savagely attacked his arm, and he shrieked in agony as he was unable to get him off, the animals claws digging into his back.

Suddenly, the weight was thrown off as a loud screech sounded in his ears, followed by a yelp of pain and a thud. He tried to stand, but his arms were unable to support the miner and he fell heavily to the ground, breathing hard. The shuffling sounds of feet came closer still and soon he could hear clear voices. The men carried torches, and the ravine was starting to fill with a little light. It hurt his eyes. He tried again to get up and managed to do so only to come face to face with one of the assassins, his swords raised at his head. Steve backed away, but slipped on a puddle of blood from the dogs and landed on his back, crying out in pain as the blades swept over his head.

"Well, well. Looks like we meet again, Steve." Came the mocking voice. The torches the men had hurt his eyes, but at least now he could see. He took a quick look around, spotting his sword in the belly of one of the dogs, laying next to him. He noticed there were more people than before. After the Endermen showed up and screeched, they probably decided it was best to sent for backup. Smart thinking, but he couldn't fight them all off, let alone fight in the first place.

"You don't look so good, Steve." The man teased as he waved his torch about to disperse the darkness, taking a good look at the miner and starting to advance. Steve grabbed the hilt of his sword with his relatively good arm and yanked hard on it, stumbling back with the added weight of the heavy weapon on his wounded arm. He heard more footsteps coming from behind him, beside him, all around him. He was slowly behind surrounded.

He hefted his sword, his arm shaking the blade as he grew light-headed. He dropped the point of the sword onto the ground and leaned heavily on it to prevent himself from falling. The assassin jerked his hand up and the others stopped.

"Leave him to me. It's my job to kill him, and so I will accomplish my task without fail." He barked at the others, seeming amused by the idea. "One of you shall stay behind while the rest will go in search of the green-eyed Endermen." He held out his torch to the man behind him, who obligingly took it, and he approached the miner with his swords raised and flashed him a smile that practically blinded Steve.

He tried to raise his own sword to counter, but the assassin was too fast, as he sprinted towards the miner without warning and slashed at his chest. The miner felt the iron shred his skin apart, and stumbled backwards clutching his wounded stomach. The assassin was relentless, coming at him from all sides, until finally he swiftly ran towards the now severely wounded miner and aimed his sword for his heart.

"Steve, you will no longer cause damage to my Kingdom and my King as you already have in the past." He approached relentlessly, brandishing his sword to reflect the light of the torch and blinded the miner. He raised his arm to shield his eyes, raising his own sword to hopefully try and blind the assassin. When the light was gone, it was replaced with terrible pain at the center of his chest, followed by a low chuckle. The pain intensified as the weapon was removed and he fell to the floor, unable to stand any longer as he felt warm fluid run everywhere around him. He coughed, feeling himself slowly choke on his own blood, and the rough movement caused immense pain in his chest and he wailed in agony. He felt his mind starting to slip, the darkness returning to obscure his vision, despite his efforts to stay awake. The last thing he remembered hearing was the loud screech of an enraged mob, followed by the screams of the men.

* * *

The Endermen stuck to the most shadowed corners of the ravine, his obsidian skin matching the eminent darkness that constantly surrounded the place. He watched from afar as the human tried to wonder further down the mine, but stopped frequently to rest. He soon heard the barking of the detestable furry four legged creatures most humans kept as pets. He slightly bared his teeth and growled softly. The Endermen teleported nearer to the approaching group of humans, noticing they had reached the bloodied floor from the previous encounter.

He watched as they let their detestable animals loose and they started running, barking wildly. He feared they would go straight to the miner, and he was right. When the green-eyed Endermen teleported himself to his former hiding place, he saw the human fighting off and even killing the first dog. He didn't notice or hear the second animal until it jumped on him and started gnawing viciously on his good arm. He hissed as he also noticed that the human seemed unable to get it off his back.

He screeched, teleporting himself behind the human and raising his clawed hands, smacking the animal on its side with his small obsidian claws. It went rolling away with a yelp of pain, hitting a rock ledge and landed on the floor with a thud. He quickly went back to his hiding place, deciding it was safer there for now.

The humans were coming closer and they quickly organized themselves, leaving two behind to deal with the miner and allowing the other four to look for the 'Green-eyed Endermen'. He hissed, letting them leave. He then focused on the humans that were attacking the miner. His sword arm was visibly shaking, and the other men took advantage of this to sprint towards the miner and slash his stomach. The Endermen could hardly resist moving to intercept, but he wanted to see if the human would be able to make a comeback.

The man then used the torchlight to blind the miner, and sprinted behind him. The miner looked confused, but was greeted by sharp pain as the human stabbed him from behind. The human removed the sword and let the miner fall to the floor, soaking the stone with crimson fast. He coughed, more blood staining the floor as he wailed from the rough movement. His movements became sluggish, and the human behind him started to chuckle as he raise his sword over the miners head, ready to kill him once and for all.

The Endermen let out a loud screech and teleported before the man, raising his clawed hands to make him appear bigger. The humans looked terrified as they screamed and attempted to run. He swung his long arms and slashed them down before they could even start to run away and alert the others. However, their scream seemed to have done just that. He quickly turned away from the wounded humans to the miner, who had stopped moving. He carefully turned the man over, as he was lying on his stomach surrounded by a surprisingly large pool of blood. He appeared to be breathing, but it might not last long in his condition. As carefully as he could, he picked the miner up in his long arms, teleporting to his hiding place to set him down. He watched as the other four humans came back after hearing the screams of their fellow companions, only to find them on the floor with long, jagged claw marks on their backs.

He looked back at the miner. His head touched the floor and blood leaked from the corners of his mouth, painting the stone floor with crimson. More blood pooled onto the floor. The Endermen became worried, the human was losing too much blood. He picked him up again, being careful not to cause any further damage, and teleported through the ravine with rather short distances. As he was half-way to his destination, the miner managed to regain consciousness and began coughing. He started to get even more worried, as the miner often drifted in and out of consciousness. He then imagined a room and found himself standing before the being he had spoken to earlier.

The man, who used to be smiling, stopped when he saw the state of the miner. He appeared a little surprised. He leaned forward in his chair, motioning the mob to come closer as the miner had regained consciousness again and coughed roughly, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. He softly cried out after he coughed again and the being put his hand on the miners head. The miner grew limp in the mobs arms and soon was completely unconscious, his head lolled on the mobs arm.

"Bring him to my room." The being ordered. "I will need some time alone with him if he is to survive. We wouldn't want our guest to die now, would we?" He chuckled a little as the Endermen did as he was told. The beings small chuckle filled the room, echoing off the walls and down throughout the whole ravine.


	6. A Living Nightmare

Chapter 6

Steve stood in the center of the large crowd, watching his friend perform one of his latest albums on stage as the crowd roared and clapped their hands to every beat of every song that was played. They sang along to almost all the songs that were sung that night, but there was one song in particular that everybody felt obliged to sing to. If they didn't know it, they felt the need to at least hum the beat.

His brother stood in the center of the plateau, lifting the microphone as he prepared to sing the next song. He took a deep breath, and lowered his head to avoid the cheering of the crowd. The miner smiled, his brother was actually shy. It warmed him for some reason. Casroth lifted his head again, and started the song, making everyone suddenly quiet down to hear his voice and sing along. Even Steve prepared himself, as he always loved his brother's songs. Casroth took a deep breath, and looked into the crowd.

" _When the days are cold and the cards all fold,_

 _and the saints we see are all made of gold._

 _When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail_

 _are the worst of all, and the blood's run stale._

 _I wanna hide the truth,_

 _I wanna shelter you._

 _But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide._

 _No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed._

 _This is my kingdom come_

 _This is my kingdom come._ "

Suddenly, it seemed like everyone was singing the song as their voices mingled with Casroth's own and formed a beautiful melody. All the combined voices didn't drown out the instruments, but only made them seem louder.

" _When you feel my heat, look into my eyes._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._

 _Don't get too close, it's dark inside._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._

 _At the curtains call is the last of all._

 _When the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl._

 _So they dug your grave and the masquerade,_

 _will come calling out at the mess you've made._

 _Don't wanna let you down, but I am hell bound._

 _Though this is all for you, don't wanna hide the truth._

 _No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed._

 _This is my kingdom come, This is my kingdom come._

 _When you feel my heat, look into my eyes._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._

 _Don't get too close, it's dark inside._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._

 _They say it's what you make I say it's up to fate._

 _It's woven in my soul, I need to let you go._

 _Your eyes they shine so bright, I wanna save that light._

 _I can't escape this now, unless you show me how!_ "

Everyone quieted down enough for Casroth to project his voice with the last line. Only once he did so, did they cheer wildly before continuing to sing along with him the song that meant so much to all the people that lived in the village. Most sang, but Steve could hear whoops and hollers as some people cheered with absolute delight.

" _When you feel my heat, look into my eyes._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._

 _Don't get too close, it's dark inside._

 _It's where my demons hide, It's where my demons hide._ "

The crowd went wild as Casroth finished the song. He scanned the crowd, seeming to look for someone, until his eyes locked with Steve's own. His face lit up faster than a torch and he scrambled to get off the plateau, dropping the microphone as he ran through the crowd; throwing himself onto Steve as soon as he was close enough. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around his friend and dear brother, smiling as he remembered the sweat smell of his brother's clothes, as well as his twinkling eyes and adorable features. He smiled the small smile his brother loved and Casroth slightly pulled away to look Steve in the eye.

"Oh my Notch! Did you see that Steve? Everyone was singing! And I mean everyone! They seemed to really love the song! I'm so happy!" Casroth held Steve tightly for a minute before releasing his tight hug and before Steve could reply, Casroth took his hand, leading the miner through the crowd and towards the plateau. Steve gapped and tried to pull back, but didn't want to offend Casroth and so he let his brother pull him along. When they reached the plateau, Casroth whispered into his ear, smiling.

"Why don't we perform our latest song for them as a surprise? We perform very well together and could easily pull it off. Are you up to it?" Casroth was looking at him with a slight grin on his face, he knew what the answer would be even before the miner even said it.

"Sure. They'll sure be happy, won't they?" Steve's smile broadened as Casroth literally jumped up and down in excitement. He went over to one of the performers and asked something, the man nodded and handed him a guitar. Casroth walked back over to Steve and handed him the instrument. It was hollow, being made of wood, and relatively light. He strummed a few strings, making sure the guitar was tuned and was satisfied. He nodded and Casroth grabbed the microphone as he turned to address the audience.

"My fellow people, I bid for you to stay for one last song that my brother and I have spent so much time and effort creating." His voice was light and convincing. Almost everybody had decided to stay, except for a few men that looked rather out of place as they stuck to the shadows. Casroth turned towards his brother, who started strumming the strings again, getting into the beat of the song rather quickly. Soon the drummer joined, adding to the beat, as well as other various instruments. Steve grew a little concerned, as it was supposed to be a guitar solo song, but Casroth didn't seem to mind, so Steve brushed it off. Soon, Casroth raised the microphone to his lips and started singing, his melodic voice made other people attempt to sing with them.

" _I can see every tear you've cried,_

 _Like an ocean in your eyes._

 _All the pain and the scars have left you cold._

 _I can see all the fears you faced,_

 _Through a storm that never goes away._

 _Don't believe all the lies that you've been told._ "

The crowd was surprised at the new song being sung on the plateau, but soon every one found it hooking in a way and tried to sing along. The ones that were leaving decided to stay, the song captivating their attention in many ways. A low hum was started by the crowd, who tried to sing the song, but were unable to find the right words to sing along.

" _I'll be right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down._

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls,_

 _I won't let go._

 _I'll be right here._ "

Steve kept strumming the strings, singing along with his brother with a smile on his face. Casroth loved it when people tried to sing along to his songs. He knew how much Casroth loved to sing and warm people's hearts. It brought him so much joy to see his brother being so happy. Steve just loved the way Casroth would smile and always bring up the mood when anyone was down. It seemed that his smile worked better than any medicine the miner ever knew.

" _I will show you the way back home,_

 _Never leave you all alone._

 _I will stay until the morning comes._

 _I'll show you how to live again,_

 _and heal the brokenness within._

 _Let me love you when you come undone._ "

The crowd was getting the hang of the beat, humming it in even tones. Some started clapping, adding to the soft melody of guitar and a few other instruments. People seemed to enjoy the song, as some where whopping and hollering occasionally. The melody carried through the small village, getting the attention of more than just the villagers that dwelled around. Steve continued to strum the guitar and sing in perfect sync with his brother, the crowd starting to get the hang of the words as they hummed the soft beat.

" _I'll be right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down._

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls,_

 _I won't let go_

 _I'll be right here._

 _When daybreak seems so far away,_

 _Reach for my hand._

 _When hope and peace begin to fray,_

 _Still I will stay..._

 _Right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down._

 _I will always be the one that took your place_

 _When the rain falls I won't let go._

 _When the rain falls I won't let go._

 _I'll be right here._ "

The soft melody finished, falling into a loud cheer. Casroth raised his hand, waving to the crowd in salute. Some of the guards that happened to be patrolling the area saluted back before continuing on their way. The end was satisfying, as Casroth was smiling happily and waving to the crowd, giving high five's to the closest people, who looked like they found the diamond jack-pot. Everything was going well, but Steve noticed that the men in the shadows were no longer there and that made him nervous. He was glad when the show was over, everyone leaving with happy grins on their faces, singing the latest song.

He was wrong, however, when he thought the night couldn't get any worse. As he walked home, he noticed Casroth had disappeared. This made Steve panic, as his brother was a little afraid of venturing alone outside after dark. The miner looked up at the sky in instinct and was shocked by what he saw. His gaped lightly, wondering if it was a trick, or if the sky was really turning a blood-red colour instead of a deep blue as it was supposed to. He rubbed his eyes, being unsure if he was dreaming or not.

He looked around as the ground began to shake, twist and swirl in every direction, making it hard for the miner to keep his footing. He tried to keep his footing, trying to regain balance but soon found himself sitting on his rear, rubbing his head. He turned his head right, then left. Finding nothing. No village, no roads, no people, no nothing. He stood, finding it strange that the ground had stopped swaying and swirling. A scream echoes ahead of him; a scream that he recognized and knew. Once on his feet, he sprinted towards the scream. It was terrible, whoever was screaming seemed like they were in pain, terrible pain when it turned into a wail then silenced. He made himself go faster, soon seeing that his surrounding were changing, growing more green and alive, but something was wrong. Something was off. The miner has been here before, too many times. All he ever remembered was...

He looked ahead of him, seeing a body of someone very familiar and frail, with a white shirt being tainted with his own precious life fluid. He was having trouble staying focused, as his eyes threatened to close permanently. Steve felt tears come to his eyes, as he started running for his dying brother, a deep slash crossed his chest, oozing blood. As he tried to get closer however, he only got farther away. He could still hear his voice, echoing across the blank space that seemed to consume the green fields in which his brother lay dying. He cried, only wanting to reach him, to save him.

"Steve...I-I..." His soft voice was cut as a cough raked his body. He took a shaky breath before continuing, a tear moving down his face in a slow motion, leaving a thin line to mark its passage. "Ste-Steve...the Kings...the-they want to-to ressurect-Hero-" He coughed again, making a pained wail afterwards. His voice was shaking and his breath was slowing. "They wanted th-the glory-of kill-killing him. Don't le-let them. Pl-please, my brother." Steve tried desperately to get to his brother, but he only got further away with every step he took. His brother's voice still echoed through the now darkening world, slowly consuming his vision. His brother's voice, however, was still very clear.

"Casroth! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" Steve cried, his voice carrying and echoing off unseen walls. His tears flowed on and on, seeming like they would never end. He wanted nothing more than to be by his side to comfort his grounded brother. He kept running, noticing that he was actually getting closer to his brother. He fell to his brothers side, lifting him up into a sitting position.

"Steve..."His brother smiled a pained smile before coughing as he slowly put his hand on the miners chest. "Still I-I will stay...ri-right here now. To Ho-hold you wh-when the sk-sky falls down..." The last words he spoke were more aired out, his breath leaving his body as his eyes closed, a small smile on his face as his head lolled on the miners arm, his arm dropping from the miners heart and touching the ground, lifeless. The last words made the tears stronger, as they seemed to pour from his eyes endlessly. He stared, not wanting to believe his eyes. Not wanting to believe his brother, loved by all the villagers, was gone forever, leaving Steve alone once again; only this time with a gaping hole in his heart that was never to be filled.

"NO!" Steve wailed. Losing his brother was the worst thing he could've imagined. Now he was left alone with nothing but a hole in his heart. He cried for awhile, holding his only family, never noticing that it was raining; his tears mixing with the rain. He felt cold, not from the rain, but from a heated rage against the people everyone looked up to. He wanted nothing more than to expose the kings for murder and a plot to gain popularity. But above all else, he wanted to kill them for taking away the only that was more precious than diamonds from him.

He kept seeing that pained face, the way his brother somehow tried to comfort Steve in the end, even to his last breath. Casroth had begged him not to let the kings resurrect someone only to kill them again. He kept hearing those pained last words his brother had told him, trying to let him know that he would never truly be gone. But someone had taken away the twinkle in his eyes, the comforting smile his brother always had, the way his smile would warm your heart. He couldn't bear it. He didn't want it to be true. But the proof was in his arms, and he was unable to deny it. He wanted nothing more than to be with his brother, but the nightmare only repeated itself.

Over...and over...and over again...


	7. Job for an Endermen

Chapter 7

Green eyes watched his every move. It was starting to get a little annoying having the Endermen watch from the shadows, out of sight and out of reach. He looked at the miner, watching as his chest rose and fell with every breath he took; at least the being had managed to stabilize him in time. The immortal had been forced to send the miner into deep unconsciousness, otherwise the healing process would've been painful; agonizing. His heart had been damaged, bleeding out in his chest, slowly filling his lungs with crimson fluid. Luckily, the being had sealed it up and removed the blood from his lungs, preventing the miner from drowning in his life fluid.

The miner was in need of very delicate work, as anything applied with the wrong pressure at the wrong place would surely be the end of him. He gestured the mob to come out of the shadows, the black smoke that usually emitted from his body was dulled down to a few hardly noticeable wisps; the poisonous fumes from his body slowly filled the room, poisoning the air.

"My friend, can you make certain that those pesky humans steer clear of this ravine? I would greatly appreciate that, as I am currently...busy at the moment." He gestured towards the miner, a hint of annoyance in the all-powerful beings voice. The Endermen nodded, spoke the strange speech of the Endermen, then left as the beings eyes narrowed dangerously from the tall mobs words. He turned back to the miner, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. He saw however, a small tear running down the side of his passive face in the weak torchlight. The miner mumbled something sounding like a name and after that, he was quiet for a long while. Time to start the dreadful healing process again.

The Endermen traveled down the ravine, giving the mobs permission on behalf of his powerful master to kill humans on sight, until he came across the opening of the cave in which the giant underground fortress in which he dwelled in was built. He looked down at himself, the rough greenish black obsidian skin he had glistened softly in the waxing moon. He looked around, spotting a camp not too far off from the entrance to the cave and growled, the smoke from the fires rising into the sky. The men he could distinguish from a distance where the exact ones to have dealt damage to the miner. He teleported around, finding his way closer to the camp, teeth bared and ready for a big fight. He would have to find a way to scare the kingdoms away from the caves, if he could.

A man came up to the tree the Endermen was hiding behind and foolishly looked into the emerald eyes of the tall mob. The mob, teeth bared, raised his hands in an effort to intimidate the man. The man pulled reached for his sword as the mob opened his large mouth and screeched a high pitched, ear shattering scream that made the man freeze, his sword half-way out of its sheath. His face was priceless, being completely consumed with fear. Greenish black claws descended on the man, slashing his torso and puncturing his lungs. The man fell to the ground, gurgling and chocking on his own blood. The Endermen growled, feeling strangely satisfied as he watched the blood on his claws drip to the forest floor. The man was still struggling, but the green-eyed mob paid no attention, as his scream seemed to have alerted the others that dwelt in the nearby camp.

The Endermen watched as the men scrambled to gather their weapons against the new threat. He watched as they ran about, worrying over nothing as they would all end up dying. He let the first come relatively close, screeching as he disappeared in green particles, the black fog seeming to respond to the mobs feelings of...was this anger he was feeling? The mob felt the strange burning sensation humans called anger build up inside him; the black fog starting to seep from his skin in concentrated clouds, poisoning anyone near him as he teleported everywhere, screeching continuously. The humans, unable to keep track of his movements, were brought down one by one as his sharp clawed hands racked their backs. His hands were slowly getting stained with more and more blood as he killed more and more humans, the feeling of anger and satisfaction driving him to wipe out the human settlement. They had harmed the miner, now they must pay. No god was going to save them, not from him and certainly not from his master.

The humans started to get shifty, as only a few remained. The mob noticed that there were more humans than in the caves a little while ago. They got out fast despite the injured they must've carried. How did they manage to do that? Not that it mattered. Anyone who passed here would see the slaughter and turn around in a hurry. The mob screeched again as more men continued pouring from the tents that circled the fire. He lowered his screech to an intimidating growl as a heavily armored man broke through the crowd that circled him. He hefted a rather large sword made of diamond and stepped forward with a grin on his face, as if he thought he could defeat the tall mob. The Endermen raised his bloodied hands again, looking for a way to defeat them all in a quick and deadly manner. The lead man was protected against physical attacks, but not against internal attacks. The Endermen let his anger consume him, his growl rising quickly to a loud, unbearable and agonizing screech that made the men closest to him fell to the floor covering their ears screaming. The black fog, activated by the mobs intense anger, seeped through his skin like a river of death, poisoning the air the humans breathed. The mob, being immune to this fog, felt stronger as he watched the weak beings struggle to breathe and fall victim to his unique poison. The lead human, who was closest to him, struggled to breathe just as much with the poison quickly attacking his organs in an agonizing manner, making him the first to fall.

The Endermen, satisfied with his work, drew the fog back towards him and ceased his screech. It vanished, leaving the closest humans dead on the ground and the humans further away from him still struggling to breathe as they desperately tried to run away. He took them all down, all but one to relay the message to the kingdoms. He followed the human, making sure he would make it to the closest town. He knew he was successful when the human turned and pointed to him from the town, the villagers helping the downed man obviously didn't believing him until they saw the black entity partially hidden by the trees. The green eyes glowed in the waxing moonlight, adding to the spookiness that was meant to scare them away from the caves and the fortress.

He crept closer, teleporting short distances to allow the humans to follow his movements. He moved until he was above them, standing on the village gates that were supposed to keep the mobs out, and slightly growled as he tried to make them understand.

" _St-tay...aw-away..._ " His deep, unnatural slow voice made the humans shiver in fright, looking up at him with absolute terror at this new unknown enemy. They visibly shivered, not sure what to make of the green-eyed mob, unsure if he would leave them alone or not. The mob opened his mouth when he heard the rustle of armor behind him, and screeched when he saw the moon's light reflected off the iron swords. The villagers screamed, men and women ran to get away, children cried in fright. His screech turned into bitter laughter. The guards halted before reaching the gate on which the Endermen stood upon. He enjoyed watching the people run for their pathetic lives, just as much as his master did. His smile was enough to terrify anyone, his laugh sent them into a panic, his screech sent them into absolute fear and disorder.

His smile broadened as he started laughing again, turning everything into a panic as he ram shacked the town, wanting his efforts to be serious enough to be taken to the kings. He wanted his efforts to be seen as dangerous, violent, brutal and deadly. One by one, he would attack the kingdoms outer villages, destroying a major part of them; thus he hoped would open the gates enough to finally give the mobs a chance to enter the kingdoms and destroy them once and for all, especially the idiotic kings.

This was truly a job for the Endermen. His abilities far surpassed his purple-eyed cousins, who could do nothing more than scream, attack and teleport. They didn't have the unique poison his skin emitted, nor the limited ability of human speech. The only feeling they had was anger. They didn't fear, they didn't love. Endermen in general were solitary creatures, as most tended to fend for themselves because of the inability to form bonds between any living creature.

He pushed the thought aside, wandering into the little town that surrounded the kingdoms outer walls, attacking every house he saw, poisoned every crop he spotted. He made sure to tear everything down, brick by brick by brick. Just like he promised, so long ago.

The being looked down at the miner's wounds; they were healing but at an agonizingly slow rate. He feared the process would certainly kill the miner, but he could be proven wrong. The miner had a healthy body, despite nearly dying of poison and being stabbed through the heart with a large iron blade, not counting the other trauma he might've gone through before arriving like he did half a day ago. It had taken the powerful being that long to secure and maintain the miners condition. It might take longer to fully recover, but the being had no doubt he would make it out of this situation alive. He was confident.

He reflected over the miners life-threatening injuries. It would've killed any other man, as it actually came close to killing him. With the blade that went clean through his chest, the immortal was surprised he could even regain consciousness in the first place, multiple times in fact according to his Endermen. However, deep in unconsciousness as he is, it might take a while for the miner to fully awaken, as he has mumbled phrases that made no sense to the powerful being. He watched the man, who never moved with the sole exception of breathing.

He decided to see what was happening with the Endermen, as he was out for quite a while longer than usual. He closed his eyes and sought the black fog that identified him from the others. He followed the traces, finding a very destroyed camp site that was rather close to the cave entrance. He continued to follow the traces of the unique black fog, following it until he reached the edge of the kingdoms. He looked around, grinning madly while looking down upon ruins that once belonged to a rather famous town known only for its various skilled artists. He almost laughed, but it instead turned into a snicker as he was surprised by what he saw. The all powerful being could hear a dark voice echoing across the debris, causing the people to panic; a tall dark form was standing on the walls that surrounded the village, looking down at anyone and everyone that fled and somehow...laughing while his black fog was intensifying in a rapid manner. That is what surprised the immortal the most; the Endermen was crackling a smile, laughing insanely.

He found it hard to admit but he decided he would save some of the fun for another time, as the Endermen had already destroyed about a quarter of the village surrounding the kingdom. He extended his range and found his way inside the mob's head, ordering for a retreat. "Withdraw now. You have done enough for today, my friend. Leave some for another time." He got a hiss as a reply but the mob reluctantly departed, looking back one last time at the burning houses before disappearing into green particles.

The powerful being opened his eyes, finding the green-eyed mob looking down at him. "?em pots uoy did yhw ,retsaM enirboreH " The deep inverted voice of the mob sounded almost like the immortals only it was deeper in pitch, but could never sound as terrifying.

The man leveled his gaze, his bright eyes making the mob take a sudden step back from fright. "I have something to ask of you. I would like for you to talk to the miner and make him reveal why he is here. Don't worry -" He said after noticing the mobs narrowed eyes. "I will send you there myself." The mob held his narrowed eyes, swiftly pointing a finger at the immortal in confusion. "I'm not going as he would be afraid of me. Oh, don't get me wrong." He smiled devilishly. "I would love nothing more than to spare the living Nether out of him, but he is a valuable asset. He knows things that I admit I don't. There have been too many visits to the caves recently and I believe he many know something of this. That is where you come in. He has already deemed you as...How to put this? A friend? A possible ally? It would be easier for you to gather this information than if I went myself; he would be too frightened to even speak." He groaned, putting a hand to his head. "Mortals are so-"

"?kaeW"

"Precisely. Their emotions are a detestable weakness, nothing more." Herobrine quickly looked at the mob, noticing that he was looking intently at the miner. He watched as the Endermen reached out a hand, but hesitated, then pulled it back towards him. "Prepare to enter his mind in the morning, as the night hours are the best for hunting." The being laughed, standing up and leaving the room, his voice running all the way down to the deepest parts of the ravine as his eyes illuminated his way in the ever blinding darkness.

* * *

After Master Herobrine was gone, the mob looked at his still bloodied hands, which were starting to ooze a little of the poisonous black fog. He had overused his power of human speech at the kingdom, now it would speed the process, but he had lasted longer than any of the others. He wasn't going to give in easily either. He had made a promise, and he was going to keep it no matter what.

Green eyes trailer over to the miner. His passive expression lifted the dark thoughts off the mobs mind, and his quiet breathing made the mob feel a little more at peace. He reached out his hand, careful not to touch the mans skin, but somehow wanting to. He snatched his hand back with a small hiss before walking towards the door; he couldn't help but look back, looking at the steady breathing of the miner before he left the darkening room.


	8. A Man's own Torment

Chapter 8

 **Hi there. I'm sorry I haven't been able to upload in a little while, so here's Chapter 8! I hope you guys enjoy, so read and review!**

The mob sat in the darkness for a while, listening to the sound of his own breathing as he thought of what he would do once he got in the man's head. He thought of things he would say, but wasn't entirely sure what to say. His hand hovered above his head, illuminated by his green eyes in the darkness. He inspected his curved claws, twisting them and flexing his fingers in boredom. That's all he did for the whole morning after he left the room in which the miner was resting in. He couldn't think of anything to say, nothing at all.

He got up, using his long arms to push him off the ground and steered himself out of the dark room of the fortress. The Endermen chose to wonder around, looking for anything good to do with the time his Master used to get ready. He teleported through the ravine, talking to random mobs and gathering information on the outside world. As far as he could tell from what he gathered, no one was coming anywhere near the cave, which meant his little terrorist attack was worth it. The bloodied campsite would be more reason to stay away. The he stopped, turning around to wonder how far he had gone into the ravine and decided whether he should turn back or not.

' _Come_.' A deep voice echoed in his head, making his decision for him. His Master was beckoning him, which meant he was ready. He turned around, making one large jump to reappear at his Masters side. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was looking impatient but strangely excited.

"Are you ready?" The impatient being asked, shifting his stance to a more comfortable one as he regarded the mob with a cold and amused blank stare. The mob nodded and followed the being as he turned around, dropping his hands to his sides and walked into the room that was occupied by the injured miner. The immortal stopped before the bed and grabbed a nearby chair to sit in. He watched the mob as he looked at the miner, his dark green-black hands hovering over the man's flesh before angrily snatching them back to his chest. A tear made its way down the man's cheek, and the being snorted.

"I would recommend either sitting or lying down somewhere to avoid falling onto the floor when I start the process, my friend." His Master stated, his blank eyes watching the Endermen's every move as he seated himself near the end of the bed. The man nodded and lifted himself from his chair, walking over to the mob as his hands lit with a white energy. "Now stay still and relax." Despite his Masters deep and intimidating voice, the mob found himself being drawn to sleep as his Master drew his hand closer to his face, the light blinding the tall mob. His eyes felt heavy and soon enough they closed, revealing empty darkness being dispersed by a white light.

* * *

The mob forced himself to open his eyes once he wasn't entirely blinded by the intense white light. He was sitting, or somewhat floating in an empty black void that was growing clearer and clearer as the moments went flying by. Soon, he could hear music and laughter, but it was faint and fading. His world then spun for a short instant before he was suddenly standing on solid ground, surrounded by buildings that were starting to fade as the sky was turning a deep shade of red the Endermen had never seen before.

He looked around and found the miner looking all around him with worried violet eyes as he looked at the sky with slight fear. The ground started to shake, throwing off the mobs balance as well as the miners and he stumbled, falling on his rear. The Endermen found no need to teleport away, as he needed to communicate with the miner and get information, but something was telling him not to interfere. Not now, anyways. He stood still, hoping the miner wouldn't notice him just yet. Soon the village was gone, as well as the roads and the buildings. The land was empty and barren.

As the miner was standing, a scream echoed in front of them, making the miner freeze in absolute fear. The miner started running towards the sound of the scream, seeming to run faster as their surroundings took on a more greenish tinge, turning more and more into a forest. The miner never slowed, even when he saw the body on the ground. The mob saw the bloodied scene ahead of him. He saw the dying man, just lying on the ground as the wound on his chest oozed blood, tainting his white shirt as it crawled around and formed a puddle around the man's body.

The miner was crying, but nonetheless he was running to his brother, who only seemed to get further and further away with each step the miner took. Somehow, it pained the Endermen to see such a scene. It felt like he was an intruder only come to see something he was not supposed to. The Endermen, for the very first time as a human-killing mob, felt pity for the man that wanted to reach his frail brother who lay dying on the soft grass, having been attacked by unseen men.

"Steve...I-I..." The man's soft voice was cut as a cough raked his body. He took a shaky breath before continuing, a single tear moving down his face in a very slow manner, leaving a thin line to mark its passage. "Ste-Steve...The Kings...the-they want to-to resurrect-Hero-" The dying man coughed again, making a pained wail afterwards. His voice was shaking and his breath was slowing. "They want th-the glory-of kill-killing him. Don't le-let them. Pl-please, my brother." The mob could see that the miner was desperate to get to the dying man, who referred to the miner as his brother, but he realized that he only got further away with every step he took. The world was darkening, slowly consuming the mobs vision, but the Endermen could still hear the man's voice very clearly.

Suddenly, the miner screamed in sorrow after his brother. "Casroth! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" Tears were streaming freely down the miners face, flowing on and on as his cries bounced off unseen walls, echoing terribly back at him. The miner kept running and this time, the mob noticed he was actually getting closer to the grounded man he called ' _Casroth_ '. Somehow he recognized the name, but he wasn't entirely sure. The miner fell to the man's side, carefully lifting him up into a sitting position, using his arm to help support the dying man.

"Steve..." The man smiled a pained smile before coughing as he slowly put his hand on the miners chest. "Still I-I will stay...ri-right here now. To ho-hold you wh-when the sk-sky falls down..." The last words the man spoke were more aired out and the tall mob looked away, knowing that the last of the man's breath had left his body for good. He knew the eyes would close and when he looked around again, he saw a small smile on the man's face as his head lolled on the miners arm as his hand dropped from where it had been on the miners chest to the ground. The mob noticed that the last words had made a strong impact on the miner, as the tears were greater than he had ever seen tears, seeming that they would pour endlessly form the man's eyes. The Endermen knew the miner didn't want to accept the man's death, as he appeared to be someone special to him.

"NO!" The miner sobbed, crying as he held the body of the man who called him a brother. The mob knew from watching families in the Overworld that the miner would be left with a hole in his heart, regretting not being able to do anything. He sat there crying for a while, not seeming to notice that it started raining. The mob hissed in discomfort, but the rain did surprisingly nothing to him and he just stood watching for a while. He noticed that the dark world was growing darker, swallowing up everything it could.

The darkness evaporated to reveal a scene the Endermen never expected. People were on plateaus, performing music while the crowd cheered. It went by, and the Endermen stuck to the shadows, not wanting to receive any attention from any of the humans in fear that they might warp the miners nightmare. The men were singing a few songs and the mob paid no attention to the words. However, the last song that the man named Casroth and 'Steve', which the mob learned was the miners name, caught his attention. They sung it in perfect synchronization and had a perfect melody. The crowd even tried to sing it, but by the way they were singing, which was mostly mumbling and humming, they didn't know the words.

However, one sentence stuck out to the mob, as it had caught his attention for the sole purpose that he heard it said before. He vaguely remembered the dying man saying the exact words he was hearing now.

' _Still I will stay..._

 _Right here now,_

 _To hold you when the sky falls down._ '

This confused the mob a little, but he soon realized that the crowd was leaving and so was the miner, so was Steve. Quickly and quietly he teleported around and before long he found the miner all by himself, looking around for something as the sky turned a very dark shade of red the mob has never seen before. The it hit him. The miner was tormenting himself, repeating what he knew was a tragedy that tore his heart. Quickly he stepped in front of the miner and he shook his shoulders, getting him to focus on only the tall mob in front of him. The miner shook his head several times before looking into the mobs eyes; the mob felt uncomfortable but sucked it up and raised his lips to speak. The movement caused the miner to look away hurriedly.

" _What happened to him_?" This one phrase caused the miner to be utterly surprised, as he looked at the mob once again, his face was full of confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, still appearing to be confused. The mob released his hold on the miners shoulders, bringing his clawed hands down to his sides as he looked at the miner expectantly for an answer.

" _What happened to the man that is named Casroth? How did he end up dying?_ " As soon as he asked his two questions, he knew by the miners face that it was something terrible. His eyes were wide in disbelief, his heart beat had picked up and he was fidgeting nervously with his fingers.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, if you're the one really speaking." The miner turned away before tilting his head back to indicate he was gesturing to the mob, unsure of who was speaking. The Endermen nodded, slightly narrowing his eyes and stepping forward. The miner raised a hand to signal a stop. "Do you really want to know?"

" _I need to know. This is something that not only concerns me, but apparently you as well._ " The miner raised an eyebrow in confusion, but the mob waved it off. " _Tell me, how are the Kings involved? I know your brother has mentioned them and a strange plan, but I was not able to completely understand what he meant._ "

"Wait. First, how are you here? I'm dead and punished with reliving my worst nightmare. I don't understand how you're able to be here physically. This is my nightmare!" The miner paced as he spoke, occasionally looking at the mob, who was starting to get a little impatient.

" _You are not dying nor are you dead, my Master has made sure of that for reasons that are still unclear to me._ " The miner gasped in surprise at the mob, but he continued before the miner could say anything. " _Tell me, Steve, what happened to get your brother killed? I need to know. Also, how are the Kings involved?_ "

The miner shook his head, looking up at the tall mob before responding. He seemed uncomfortable, as he was still pacing. "Alright, but I can't tell you much. Casroth...found out that the Kings wanted to bring something powerful back to life and unleash it upon their own citizens. They planned to let it destroy a part of the Kingdoms before they themselves intervened and killed it, thus regaining the glory, popularity and dependence of the remaining citizens. That's all I know." The miners face was a little red as he looked up at the tall mob, tears dotting the corners of his eyes as he spoke about his deceased brother. The two stood in silence for a moment, taking in what had been said. This was bad, but it was foolish of the Kings to do such a thing.

" _Do the citizens know?_ " The miner shook his head and the mob mentally slapped himself, feeling a little awkward once he realized what he had said. " _Was that why you brother died, because he knew what was planned to happen?_ " Steve nodded again, unable to speak. His purple eyes never met the mobs emerald green eyes. He could figure out the rest, but he was still intrigued as to what had sparked such a thing to be considered by the Kings. However, he got the information he needed, but he was still curious about the miner. He wanted to know why and how the miner was tied in to all this mess.

"I wish I could've done something to prevent all this from happening." The miner grabbed both sides of his head, shaking it with so much regret the mob only felt sorry for him. He extended a hand and put it gently on the miner's shoulder, making him face the black mob in surprise at his action.

" _You have to learn to forgive yourself for things you have not done. Blaming yourself for Casroth's death will not bring him back._ " The miner slowly nodded, his hands dropping from his head to his sides. " _Even if you had known beforehand, would the Kings have killed you instead of your brother? Would the turn of events put him in your place? How would you feel knowing you left something important behind with no way to go back? Think, Steve._ "

"I've never thought of it that way before. I could never think of Casroth being alone because he had me. We had each other." After a while, the mob noticed that Steve was growing tired, as the world around them was growing darker and darker. He also noticed that Steve was fading from the mobs line of sight.

" _Think for a moment, Steve, and stop beating yourself up for something you were unable to prevent, even if you had known._ "


	9. The True Target

Chapter 9

 **Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been very busy as of lately, but I managed to get it done and here you are. Hope the wait wasn't too long! :) Please R &R, and most certainly...Enjoy.**

* * *

The first thing the mob saw when he opened his emerald-green eyes were the glowing white ones of his master, looking down at him with slight curiosity. The mob got up and stretched himself, his hands almost touching the ceiling, before addressing his master.

" _.gnibrutsid dnif thgim uoy noitamrofni derehtag evah I ,drol yM_ " The mob hissed softly, drawing closer to his master, who was sitting near the bed and gazed silently at the man lying on it. He then looked at the Endermen.

"I will permit you to speak normally, as I am tired from exorcizing my power for quite some time. It will drain a small portion of my remaining energy, but don't worry. Now, what did he say?" The powerful being waved his hand in the air for a brief amount of time, before placing his hand on his head as he looked at the mob, the following silence giving the mob permission to speak. Yet the mob was hesitant, as his masters glowing eyes had dimmed for a split second.

" _Humans...bad..._ " The mob hissed, obviously not used to speaking the tongue of the humans and visibly not liking it too much. His green eyes narrowed, hoping it would show his discomfort with using the detested human tongue a lot of the mobs hated.

"Which ones? All of them or a certain amount of them?" The powerful being questioned. He seemed tired and maybe impatient, as the man had taken his bed for a while now.

" _Kings...bad...others...not aware..._ " The room was silent for a little while, both beings turned their attention towards the man on the bed. He was sleeping soundly, the tears having dried up. The Endermen still felt a little something inside him, like a small tinge of some sort, when he thought of the man's nightmare. The way he tormented himself with his brother's death, over and over and over again as he wouldn't let go and made himself regret.

"So the Kings are bad." The Endermen nodded, not taking his eyes off the miner. "And the citizens, or the other residents, are not aware." The Endermen nodded again. The immortal then pointed to the miner. "But how did he know? How did the miner become aware?" The Endermen's head turned towards the being, his eyes narrowed.

" _Steve..._ " He hissed.

"Alright then. How did Steve become aware?" The immortal corrected himself, seeing that the mob was offended. He swore that as soon as he said that, the Endermen's eyes softened to a point that he thought he could see pity in the mobs eyes. The powerful being wondered what could have caused such a change in the Endermen.

" _Friend...and...brother...very frail..._ " The mob swore that he saw the being tense up a little, his gaze tore itself from the miner to the mob, his face had confusion and suspicion written all over it. His eyes narrowed and his brows came together.

"What was his name?" The mob was now the one to be confused. He heard the miner mention it, maybe a few times, but what was it? He could see his master start to lose his patience, his foot tapping on the ground in a soft and even rhythm.

" _Cas...Castiel...Casreh..._ " The Endermen went through a bunch of names, trying to find the right one by elimination. He kept trying, despite having the powerful immortal losing his patience beside him. He kept trying, knowing he was going to have it eventually. However, seeing that he wasn't going far with his elimination process, he stopped and thought back to his conversation with Steve. His thoughts were quickly cut short as he was drawn back to reality by the sound of his master's voice.

"Could it have been Casroth?" Stunned, the mob nodded. Before he could ask how he knew, the being held up his hand, then stayed silent for a while, seeming to be in deep thought. It didn't last long however, as he turned back to the mob. "Did the mi- I mean- Steve tell you anything about why the Kings are bad? Perhaps something they are planning they don't want the population to know? What could they want?" The mob nodded, drawing closer to the bed.

" _Glory...for killing...someone..._ " The Endermen hissed, his eyes growing soft as his gaze landed on the miner. He watched for a second as the miner drew a breath, then exhaled it. When he turned his head to look at his master, he knew he had lost him, his blank expression told him everything. " _Resurrect only...to...unleash...onto their kingdoms...and kill...knowing it would...make them heroes...to those who...survive..._ "

"And the citizens don't know what's coming." He chuckled to himself, his gaze shifting slightly to the miner, who heaved a long sigh. "What about his brother? How did he know?" The mob heaved his shoulders. ' _That's helpful._ ' He thought bitterly. "Alright, then tell me. Who are they after?" The mob drew a deep breath. Suspension started to build up in the air the longer the mob refrained from speaking. Finally, he let his breath out.

" _Not Notch...can't resurrect...if not dead...he would never...attack...his own...creations...the pitiful humans..._ " The mob sighed, a tension started building up in his chest. The immortal didn't say anything, as the mob was not done. " _Only one...left..._ " He met his masters white gaze and he knew his master had caught wind of what he meant.

"So you mean to say that the kings plan on resurrecting one person, unleash him upon their own kingdoms, only to kill him again and get the glory they want from the people that will survive this dreadful experience?" The powerful man looked upon the mob, his glare intensifying as he suspected who the kings were after. But he wasn't sure and wanted conformation. "And did Steve tell you who this person would be?" The mob nodded. "Then spit it out. I'm growing weary." The mob took in a gulp of air. The miner didn't exactly tell him. Casroth did, when he lay dying in his brother's arms. He said specifically _'Ste-Steve...The Kings...the-they want to-to resurrect-Hero-'_. The mob looked at the being in front of him, building up his courage. The only person he could think of that had a very similar name was...

" _You..._ " He whispered.

* * *

The king, dressed in his silk robes, sat on the throne located in the middle of the room, silently reading a large book that rested across his lap. A crown made of glass sat undisturbed on his combed head, reflecting everything around. A tremor shook the castle, disturbing both the king and the framed pictures on the stone walls of the grand castle that belonged to the Third Order Royalty. The glass scepter, once leaning on the arm of the high chair, had fallen to the ground with a small _clank_.

"What the hell was that? Grace!" The king shouted, looking up from the large tome on his lap. His servant came running and he handed her the book. "Grace, on your way out would you mind gathering the team that assisted in the Casroth Incident for me?" She nodded and scurried away. He could hear her footsteps as she went to find the vast library and put the book back where it belonged. He leaned against the back of the chair, gently rubbing his temples as he closed his eyes. "Solana?" He called softly.

"Yes, My Lord?" A small voice asked. The king opened his eyes, finding the source of the small voice to be a man, standing next to the throne with a small notepad and pencil in his hands. He seemed new, as did many of the men in the kings castle since the previous had been disposed of rather recently, if not about a year ago.

"You are not Solana." The king said bluntly, his eyebrows coming together in a frown.

"Solana is not here, My Lord." The man said.

"I'm guessing your here to replace her in her absence, correct?" The man nodded, his answer satisfying the king. "Alright then, can you give me a hypothesis on what may have cause the earthquake we have just felt? I am not an expert, but I do not recall our land being plagued by any earthquakes in the last hundred years or so." The king looked at the man, expecting a reasonable from him.

"Well, without a doubt we can cross out the tectonic plates. We are too far from them to be able to felt an earthquake like we just did. If you will allow me to say, my Lord, I believe the source of this earthquake may have something to do with your...plan." The man lifted his head from his notepad, looking at the king with dark blue eyes.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I am suggesting that, my Lord, the being you are planning to resurrect has already been...resurrected. Maybe by someone else." He stated carefully, glancing at the king to make sure he didn't say anything to make his king mad.

"Or maybe he was never truly dead to begin with." The king snorted, realizing how their plan might be slowly crumbling to pieces before their very eyes. "Damn it! Damn that fool Casroth!" The man looked down at his notepad and scribbled a few notes before turning his attention to the king once again.

A knock on the door interrupted his Highness, and he gazed up tiredly, motioning that he was not to be disturbed. The man next to him, looked at the king for a few moments and caught the look in his eyes, moving to the large set of double doors. The doors were carved out of iron and laced with gold, making a highly valued display, even with the mines running rich in ores.

The door opened slightly, revealing two men in identical but different coloured clothes. They both wore thick clothing, presumably to hide any weapons and serve as protection from most blades and weapons. They both had hoods on their heads, pulled low enough to completely hide their face, but not low enough to hide their eyes. As soon as he realized who the two men were, the king raised himself from his throne.

"Let them in, my boy." His voice echoed off the walls, breaking the silence that had previously taken place. The man looked at his king in question, but stepped aside once he noticed the king had arisen himself from his throne. Nervously, he stepped aside and the two men stalked in, their footfalls fell silent as soon as their feet met the red velvet carpet installed not too far away from the door's entrance. Once they reached his Highness, they both bent down on one knee and bowed.

"Speak." The king ordered.

"My lord, we have scouted the surrounding areas as ordered and discovered one of our many campsites deserted. However, it wasn't what it seemed. After some digging around, we discovered that it wasn't deserted. However, everyone stationed there were wiped out." The first man spoke, his voice somewhat hidden by the depth of his hood. Now that both of them were closer to him, the king noticed that the second figure was a girl.

"Any clue what might of done it?" He asked. "I recall hearing something of the sort from the villagers a little while ago." The two nodded.

"Precisely. The man the villagers found at the gates claimed to have seen a green eyed fiend. One who was tall like the Endermen, yet could talk. He claimed it wiped out the camp with some sort of...black fog." The girl stated. Her voice was devoid of emotion, only showing fear when mentioning the black fog.

"And what happened to him? Do you know?"

"He died, My Lord, shortly after this...Ender-beast ransacked about half the town before he up and left." The man said, raising his head to meet the kings eyes. The king turned around and headed towards his throne, taking his glass scepter from the floor and looking at it fondly before placing back against the throne.

"That's unfortunate. What did this - Ender-beast, as you call it - say?" The two looked at each other, then back at the king, their eyes narrowed slightly. The man stood up and reached into his belt, pulling out a rolled up piece of paper tied with a red ribbon. He took it and neatly untied the ribbon, scanning the page while the two simply stared at him. He raised his head, catching their attention.

"Well, you both know what this means do you not?" The two nodded. "Looks like my assassins might have died, so their job is considered unfinished. I leave the rest up to you two. Bring me this man's head - the one you call Steve, I believe - and you will be rewarded handsomely." The two smirked at each other, already starting to shift in their bowing stance. The king smiled at their impatience to get on the job.

"Yes, your Highness. Those miserable assassins you sent after him didn't know what they were up against. They forgot that this man was...special. We will not disappoint you like they did."

"Good. Now get going, I do not want to keep wasting your daylight hours. Come back as soon as you can." He said, his voice becoming more commanding as he tried to hide the excitement that was starting to course through his veins. The two raised themselves, bowed one last time and left silently. The thought of another possibility that might make the plan work was forming in his head, making him impatient for the two of the - assassins, from the looks of them - to be out or earshot and eyesight. He now wanted to be alone to think his new idea through and reformulate the plan.

"I am going to bring you down, Herobrine." He thought to himself, smirking as he paced the length in front of his grand throne."One way or another, I will bring you down, just like you did to the others all those years ago. I'll make sure you never wake up again, just like I did to your brother when _he_ first showed up."

The king forgot however, that someone else was in the room with him, as the man with the notepad and pencil in his hands scribbled down a few notes, then snuck out of the throne room as the king kept himself distracted enough to never notice the man's small footfalls as he crept down the hall.


	10. Wake

Chapter 10

 **Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while. Here I have chapter 10! It's so amazing! I truly hope more of you will review what you think about the chapter. I LOVE reading reviews, they make me so happy! Anyways, hope you enjoy. Oh, there's gonna be a surprise at the end too. :P**

* * *

"Steve, please wake up. Wake up, silly."

* * *

His eyes shot open, revealing nothing but darkness. He looked around and tried to sit up on the bed. Wait, What? A bed? How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was being attacked by the dogs and the assassins... His hand went flying to his chest, where he expected a hole the width of a sword to be placed accompanied by enormous amounts of pain, but he found nothing but smooth bandages. Steve couldn't figure out he had gotten here, wherever _here_ was. At least, not until he saw the glowing green eyes of the Endermen.

"Vlurp. Vlurp." The green eyes approached the bed slowly, seeming to take care not to scare him. Some of it made sense, but Steve was confused. The last thing he remembered was hitting the ground, hearing a deafening screech as he bled out on the cave floor in complete darkness. His thoughts went to his only means of warmth, which must've been tattered after the fight. Now feeling the chill of the cave winds, he longed for the cloak's warmth.

' _You took quite the beating earlier. Are you feeling alright?_ ' A deep, yet soft voice asked, resonating slightly in his head and making him cringe. He knew it was useless trying to see who might've spoken to him, so instead he used his sense of hearing. He couldn't hear anyone other than himself and the Endermen in the current room, but who knew how big the room was?

And to be honest, he felt like hammered Wither bones as he forced himself to sit upright on the bed, still trying to take in his dark surroundings. He wasn't sure who was talking, and so he kept his mouth shut. He noticed that the only light there was were the emerald eyes of the mob, which never faltered and never left his own eyes. They just stared. He heard something shift and was instantly tense as soon as he felt the sharp point of claws gently hook his shirt.

' _Come. I think it is time you learned how to maneuver in these dark caves, as you seem to be unaccustomed to dealing with cold weather and dark surroundings._ ' Steve felt himself being lifted out of the bed and he cringed at the slight pain in his chest, staggering slightly as his legs felt wobbly. However, the clawed hands tightened their hold to prevent him from falling, and gently pulled him up on his feet.

 _This is going to be fun._ The mob thought, looking at the human struggle with the darkness. How fun. The darkness never bothered the mob, as his eyes were specifically designed to be in eternal darkness. The mob, knowing that other humans were after Steve, decided it would be best for him to stay in the caves. He planned to teach this human, this... _friend_ , the skills needed to maneuver in these dark caves without the mob having to pull him around. Eventually too, he planned on making him fight, as the assassins weren't done with their job and would surely come back. At least, not anytime soon.

* * *

A girl stood on the edge of a grand cavern, looking into its deep dark depths, wondering and imagining. The long, delicate golden-silver hair was being whipped around by the whistling wind as the girl held out her hands on either side of her body, letting the wind tickle her tanned skin. Her silvery eyes opened, and she breathed in the sweet smells of the nature around her. It made her calmer, the open air, the vast forests with limitless adventures, unlike the closed off castle of her father.

She hated her father. Ever since her father had rediscovered the Ancient Immortals, he had been bent on destroying them all for the sake of glory and fame. It made her sick. Now, her father knew it would be difficult to hide this big of a secret from the other kings, and so he told them what he was planning on doing. What made her angry, was that they all agreed. They all _agreed_ to unleash these immortals into the kingdoms and kill innocent people. ALL so that they could have their glory and fame and fortune, blah, blah, blah. Normally, little princesses like herself would agree with what their fathers said, but she flat out refused to his face, telling him it was wrong to do such a thing to such nice people. She even told him that he was nothing more than a greedy, selfish pig that craved for lost glory. After that, she had stormed out of the castle, getting a few stares from the maids as well as a curious glance from the little man with the pad and pencil.

Now, she waited here for something. Anything. She wasn't sure what, but she had a feeling something was going to happen. And she didn't know how right she was.

A low, menacing growl came from behind her, making her turn around slowly to see the beady red eyes of several wolves staring at her with absolute hate shining like a torch in their eyes. She tried to get up, but it only made the growling grow louder. Slowly, she reached for her favourite sword, one she liked to call Gideon. Suddenly the wolves pounced and she swung her sword in a wide arc around her. The enchanted iron obsidian sword made contact with several life forms, most of them taken out with the first blow. The others were hesitant to come near now, and she took advantage of their fear as she glared at them with flaming silver eyes.

"Leave. Now." They were hesitant to leave, but eventually, the blood dripping off the sword convinced the few remaining wolves to back down and they retreated into the forest. She laughed lightly to herself, looking at the bodies of the lovely creatures she had killed. She extended a hand to the closest one, bending down to pet its head, closing the wolfs eyes before lightly kissing it on the head. She then did the same to the rest before going back to sit by the dark cavern.

 **You are an unusual being, Solana. You take pity on those weaker than you, even when defending yourself.**

Who was talking? After she had closed the eyes of the last wolf, a soft voice began whispering in her head. The voice itself didn't sound menacing, but its words bothered her a little. A small rustle of wind blew from behind her and she turned to face the small man with the note pad and pencil. His gaze was one of sadness as he looked at her, then to the deceased wolves lying everywhere on the forest floor. His deep brown gaze returned her own silver one.

"Honestly, my dear Solana, you surprise me continuously." He said, his voice quiet, yet somehow loud enough for her to make out each word clearly. She sat down and began cleaning her sword. "I see you've brought Gideon with you. A nice sword, but did you know it was rumoured to have been created for the sole purpose of exterminating the Ancient Immortals?" She raised her head in confusion.

"And how would someone like you know something like that?" He smiled lightly, walking over to her side and setting down his note pad and pencil. She noticed that the name tag on his shirt said 'AI', something she frowned about, but refrained from asking.

"My dear, I know a lot of things, but right now that is none of your concern." His smile faded and they both fell silent. He looked out into the distance and frowned, seeming troubled, but he turned back to her with a small smile. "However, you will find yourself on a more...important journey, soon enough." smiled again and the wind picked up, making her close her eyes at the intensity. Once the wind had died down, she heard a gentle neigh in front of her and looked up to see a magnificent stallion standing in front of her. He was the colour of the setting sun, a nice orange colour, with a black mane and tail. The stockings on his legs were also black and she watched with amazement at the wonderful creature.

 **Now is not the time to stall, get up on him and he will find what you desire most.**

Not sure as to who the voice belonged to she searched for a source, but only tripped over the small note pad and pencil the little man had left behind as she wandered around. In frustration she picked up the note pad, but her frustration died down quickly enough when she saw what was written on it.

 **I would hurry if I were you. You do not have a lot of time.**

At first she didn't understand, but once she re-read the paper a few times it sunk in and she panicked. The girl dropped the note pad and ran to the horse, climbing onto its back. As soon as she was installed onto him, the horse broke into a gallop towards the castle, almost making the girl tumble off his back.

 **Hurry, Solana. You may even be too late.**

The small man came from under the bushes and bent down to pick up his note pad and pencil once again, carefully reading what he had written before crossing it out. Soon after that, he watched as the two galloped towards the kingdoms, desperate before it was too late. He ripped the paper from the note pad and let it drop on the floor next to the scattered bodies of the wolves.

It read: Death of a loved will occur in the hallways of the Third Order Royalty.

* * *

The king sat on his high throne, looking down at the council members, both old and new since that unfortunate _accident_. He looked over to his side, the little man was always there, holding his note pad and pencil close to him as he took notes on various things being said. He held his scepter on his lap, indicating authority within the room.

"Has anyone been able to locate my daughter?" He asked, his voice booming around the silent room. He saw many flinch at the sudden voice, but none answered. He was unsatisfied with the answer. So, he decided to change the slightly change the subject. "Does anyone know why my daughter has decided to go against my plans?" Again silence. He was growing tired of this.

"Sire, if I may?" The little man asked, his light voice slightly making the old king jump in his throne. He nodded, making sure no one saw him jump.

"Go ahead."

"I believe your daughter, Princess Solana, may arrive right about-" The doors flew open and in stormed a golden-silver haired girl. Her silver eyes bore right into her fathers, looking at him with absolute hatred as her feet landed loudly on the carpeted floor. "-now." The man with the note pad finished.

"Fathe-" She started, but a sharp, loud, agonized scream cut her off. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at the door, then to her father, who seemed just as puzzled as she was. "What was that?" She asked, trying to think of who could've screamed. A maid came rushing into the chambers, tears flowing down her eyes like rivers.

"My lord! My lord! Someone has been killed in the castles hallways! OH! My lord, please do something!" She kept on murmuring to herself, the rest of the words were inaudible. Solana walked over to the maid and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Can you tell me who it is?" She asked, hoping for the best but seeing the worst. The maid nodded but was unable to say the name, as she only pointed to the doors. Solana quickly rushed over to the doors and looked around, eying the hallways with a critical eye, but she could not see any signs of murder. Maybe the maid was hallucinating... However, as she turned her head to the left of the hallway, she noticed blood soaking the floor and her heart sank. She moved forward, wanting to look at this persons face, and she broke down horribly. She just burst out into tears at the sight, crying for the world to end, crying for a lost friend.

A body of a young man was pinned to the wall, blood was splattered on the wall above him, spelling out the words 'You're next.' The only person she could think to have done this was who her father was trying to kill. Could what her father said be true? That Herobrine was actually evil and killed for fun? She didn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. As she cried, she felt arms wrap around her, holding her in a tight embrace. She kept crying and crying, never knowing who was hugging her until she heard her father's voice in her ears, whispering.

"This is why I want to hunt him down, my dear. I don't want any more of our citizens to get hurt. This is proof enough of what he can do. He slipped through all my soldiers and killed your friend." His voice, despite having such a horrifying attack right next to the throne room, was very calm and that disturbed her. Something was wrong, but she didn't care at all. Her best friend was dead. All because of HIM. Her father left her in the care of the maids, who brought her back to her room where she could calm down and not have to watch her friend be taken away. As soon as the maids were gone, she heard that soft voice again.

 **My dear, you look like you want answers. I know of a little cottage near a village where a solitary miner used to live. If you go there, you will find more than what you seek. However, be careful about what you say. You cannot blame everything that happens on** _ **him**_ **. You must** _ **never**_ **blame everything that happens on him. Or else your answers will be lost, far beyond your reach.**

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 **HHHEEEYYY! Now were getting to know a little more about some of the characters. The man with the note pad and pencil is fun to write. Review who you think it is, and what his role is in the story. I'd like to see what you all come up with. :) Chow!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619**


	11. Surroundings

Chapter 11

 **Hey! What is up, guys? I'm here with another chapter. Now, thanks to every one who reviews. It really encourages me to write. And the views? Wow! its almost over maybe 750! that's crazy! Anyhoot, thanks for all the support you've been giving and, by all means, enjoy!**

Over the past few hours, he tripped and fell over numerous obstacles, the Endermen stood near him and occasionally he would hear a soft chuckled as he landed flat on the ground. He was getting tired of this, constantly tripping and falling. How could he improve if he couldn't see? It was making him angry, and he was about to shout at the Endermen when the green eyes came too close to his face, making him hiss at the sudden light in the vast darkness.

' _Do not get angry over something like this. It takes practice to master a skill you have never truly practiced before. Even if you were once a miner._ ' The Endermen could tell that the human knew he was right. A skill like this does not come easily and certainly not within a time span of four hours. ' _I will give you a hint, if you wish._ ' All the mob got was silence. ' _Tap your foot on the ground, and listen._ ' Steve was hesitant to do as the Endermen told, but he reluctantly tapped his foot on the ground and listened intently. He heard his foot echo against stone, and even heard a faint echo bounce back. He tried over and over again, moving forward very slowly. Soon, he began to grow used to the noise his feet made and the echoes that bounced back. He tapped his foot down again, and tried to determine where the echo was coming from ,estimating that a little ways in front of him, a single stone jutted out from the wall. He moved forward slowly, taking his time as he took small steps until his foot tapped something. He placed his hands in front of him and felt a familiar texture, one he felt quite often when down in the mines. The stone. He smiled. He was close, and getting closer with all the practice the Endermen was making him do. For some reason, the mob kept helping him, and even saving him, for reasons he couldn't think of.

' _You are improving, even if it is ever so slightly._ ' The mob commented. The tall black creature was impressed at how much the human was improving, especially in a time span of a few hours. He could tell the human's eye sight was next to useless in the vast darkness, but was very slowly improving and over time he just might be able to see a few vague shapes in the darkness. However, that was not a strong possibility, considering the men that wanted him dead.

"Do you have a name?"

The sudden voice in the soundless caves made the mob jump slightly in surprise. He was shocked to hear the human speak after so much time being silent and in reality, it shocked him. He heard another _thump_ as the human hit something and fell over, which made the creature chuckle a little.

' _A name?_ ' The mob asked, slight caution creeping onto his face as he slightly narrowed his eyes. However, he realized the black fog start seeping from his green-obsidian skin, and tried to contain the toxic fumes as much as possible.

"Yeah. I've got to call you something-" He suddenly coughed, cutting himself off and making the mobs cautious face turn to one of worry as he looked at the human in concern, the black fog dispersed instantly. Steve was hunched over, one hand over his mouth and the other over his chest as he coughed for a few good moments. Gradually, he stopped coughing and turned to face the brilliant green eyes. The mob hesitated for a second before answering. He knew the black fog was going to become a problem, not only for the human, but for himself as well. Another rough cough removed him from his thoughts as he looked down at the human.

' _Anything wrong?_ ' He asked, getting a little agitated. Steve shook his head, having a slow chuckle as he continued practicing. They were draped in silence once again for the sole exception of feet taping on the ground and the echoes that came back.

"What colour is your skin?"

' _Pardon me?_ ' He raised a single eye brow, eying the human with suspicion. He noticed the human grow a little uncomfortable, as if he'd done something wrong.

"I was curious about your skin colour. That's...that's all." He said, slightly stammering when he noticed the Endermen's glance from the corner of his eye. The creature was surprised, he never meant to cause discomfort in the human, and two simple words seemed to have done it. Oh, well. He wasn't used to the altering behaviors of the human race. Some were just as bad as the mobs that lurked in the night, and others were more like Steve, although the mob was unsure how to describe his human friend.

' _I don't actually have skin as I am covered with hard obsidian scales. And to answer your question, my scales are a slight greenish hue._ ' The mob noticed the humans surprise when he stopped tapping his foot on the ground.

"Greenscale..." He whispered to himself, even though a simple whisper could be loud enough to be considered as a slight raise of voice in the soundless caves. The mob tilted his head, indicating confusion. "That's what I'm going to call you, if you don't mind. Greenscale. I find it suits you very well." The Endermen chuckled. Honestly, he like the name the human had given him. It was original. He watched for a while as Steve directed himself through a portion of the cave without bumping into any obstacles.

' _Come, Steve. You seem to have gotten the hang of directing yourself in darkness. It is time to try something different. I want to see how well you'll handle yourself in a fight where you cannot see your opponent. I want to see you fight in complete darkness._ '

* * *

After she had heard the message from, well, she wasn't sure who, she grabbed a few things, which included her enchanted iron-obsidian sword Gideon, and went to the castle gates. She had been careful to take all the backstreets and abandoned roads to avoid being seen by the citizens as she made her way to the last place she had seen and left the beautiful stallion. She smiled once she heard the neighing of the horse and as calmly as she could, she approached him. His ears went back against his head and she stopped, raising her hands slowly after letting the bags drop onto the floor. She backed up a little, wanting to make sure that the animal didn't feel threatened, and after he sniffed around her bags, he let her come slowly closer.

"Hey, there." She cooed, gently rubbing his muzzle as she gave him an apple and two carrots. After he munched on his snacks, she picked up her bags and made her way onto his back. His nice caramel coat gleamed under the light of the moon as he let her climb on. She patted his neck in appreciation as she whispered in his ears. "Shall we do another ride?"

He snorted in agreement and tossed his head, neighing as he lifted his two front legs off the ground, which nearly made Solana tumble off his back, before running at an even pace towards the dense forest. Solana was scared that she'd fall off as the horse made graceful movements and small jumps to avoid tree branches and small rocks, but was smiling in no time as she felt the wind brush wildly through her hair and tickled her skin. She even broke into laughter as the caramel stallion made an incredible jump over a small lake, his hooves splashing water into her face as he landed. The stallion neighed happily as he shook his mane, breaking into a sprint as night began to fall.

She had closed her eyes as he did this, clutching his neck for dear life but laughing at the strange sensation that appeared in her chest. She never wanted to get off. She never wanted this to end. She grew fond of the stallion that had appeared in the clearing that night, which was yesterday. He was the most amazing thing she ever had, but then again, the voice had offered it to her in order to reach the things she desired the most, and she wanted answers.

The voice had said that the answers to her questions lay in a small shack beyond a little village, but she had no idea where that was as the voice had not been specific. The stallion, however, seemed to know as he kept galloping at full speed, often neighing and shaking his mane as he jumped over streams and obstacles, making her laugh for most of the journey. Then, he started to slow his gallop until he came to a trot, then he even slowed that to a walk. She looked up from where her face had been buried in his neck and saw why he had slowed his pace.

In front of them, a few people were blocking their path. By a few, she meant two, one boy and one girl. They looked heavily armed, each having a polished sword firmly clasped in one hand, and the other hand held a bag that was slung over their shoulders. Their clothing appeared to be thick enough to act as armor and their faces were hidden by the hoods that hung low on their faces. The insignia on their clothing gave them away as assassins for one of the several kingdoms. Which kingdom they belonged to, she couldn't tell. The caramel stallion neighed nervously, pawing the ground and shaking his head back and forth, as if trying to intimidate them.

"May I know who ventures out in the darkness by their lonesome?" One of the two asked, extending a hand to indicate he was talking to her, a polite tone in his voice also indicated he meant no harm. She started to get off her caramel mount, but he fidgeted so much she was scared he might accidentally step on her or run away. So she stayed put and tried to deal with it.

"I am known as Princess Solana, daughter of the king of the Third Order Royalty, King Lancelot. I demand you let me pass." The two looked at each other, a silent message passed between them. The both shook their heads.

"I am sorry, Ma'am. We cannot allow you to pass by the orders of his Majesty King Lancelot." The figure to her left, a male, spoke. His voice gave off a certain ring she didn't like and it seemed like the stallion had came up with the same reaction. She started to panic and as soon as the two started to come closer, she tensed up and the horse neighed, raising his front legs off the ground and tried to hit the assassins.

"Please, Ma'am!" The other, a female said, reaching a hand behind her thick clothing and using the other to cover her face as she dodged the horses hooves. "Get your mount under control! We only wish to escort you back home!" As soon as they were close enough, the stallion saw a gap and jumped right over them, breaking into a sprint as soon as his hooves hit solid ground. The only thing she heard other than the wind in her ears and the numerous _Thuds!_ of hooves on solid ground was the angry shout of the assassins as the caramel stallion put a lot of distance between them, as the two figures disappeared out of view in a matter of seconds.

A little while later, the stallion started slowing his pace again and she grew concerned. He had been running for a while, almost half the night as she watched the moon lazily travel down across the sky. Soon he came to a halt and she slipped off his back as he started grazing. She looked around, not recognizing the area. Where was she? The stallion couldn't of messed up in his direction, could he? She looked around, noticing a gravel path. Confused, she decided to follow it. It took a little more than five minutes, but eventually she found herself standing at the edge of a small clearing.

Solana had a little trouble keeping her jaw closed as she stared at the sight before her. It was amazing. There was a house, a decent sized animal farm, a sugar cane farm, a wheat farm and even more. This place had almost everything. She smiled a little as she looked around, not able to contain her curiosity about this amazing place. What drew her in the most about this place was the house. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Being built with various materials which included stone bricks, birch wood, and even spruce.

"Wow." She breathed. She was about to open the door and take a look inside when a snort behind her made her jump back. She looked behind her to find the caramel stallion to be staring at her, his tail gently swung behind him. Then he turned and walked towards the furthest path to the left. She looked at him questionably, debating internally whether or not to follow him.

 **Follow him. He will show you something.**

Well, her decision was made for her and she jogged after the caramel steed, soon catching up to him. He snorted a little as he went along the path, which soon led them to a dead end. A bunch of vines growing on what seemed to be a very dark tree trunk, the stallion eying them intently. As she looked closer, not willing to accept a dead end as an answer, she found that the vines were moving and a small air current could be felt through the vines. Carefully, she used Gideon to move the vines out of the way and sure enough, she found a small clearing with a single stone in the center of it. A few letters were sketched on it but she was too far to read what it said. The stallion pushed past her and through the curtain of vines, snorting gently as a few rubbed his nose. She huffed and walked in after him, taking a small peak behind her in worry that the assassins had caught up to them, but she saw no one. She sighed and closed the curtain of vines behind her, taking out a torch to banish some of the darkness as the moon now looked her in the face, almost setting. The horse nuzzled the stone and she looked at it, curious.

She notice it was a Standing Stone, a single name stretched across its surface as well as a small necklace with a small transparent jewel that was placed on the dirt in front of the stone. She took the necklace and jumped as the jewel popped open, revealing a picture with two figures. Small letters were etched on the top, forming the sentence : _Steve and Casroth, brothers forever._ Her eyes widened. No way. She looked at the grave, not wanting it to be true. Indeed it was. Reading the name out loud, she fought the tears that threatened to obscure her vision. She felt something soft nuzzle her shoulder and she turned, wrapping her arms around the stallions neck, still not wanting to cry.

 _Casroth._

"Oh, Cas...My poor Cas." She looked at the jewel again, seeing how happy he was and a sudden realization struck her. Wait. _Steve and Casroth, brothers forever._ That house. That beautiful house was Steve's house. But where was he? She hugged the horse tightly for a few more moments until the horse pulled away, moving out of the small clearing. He neighed impatiently as he started jumping around, heading back down the path they had come from. She followed, not wanting to lose the only companion she had. Soon, however, she broke into a run as the horses neighs became louder, bursting into the clearing where the house was located.

Up on the roof, being illuminated by the fading moon, was a single figure. He wore a cyan blue shirt and dark blue jeans as well as a diamond sword strapped to his back. His dark brown hair flowed gently as the wind whispered around them. Solana looked at the picture in the jewel, then back at the man. It looked like him, but wasn't his hair a little dark? She couldn't keep staring anymore and she took a step forward, a little hesitant as his head snapped towards her, making the stallion neigh and paw the ground, ears laid flat on his head. She tried not to look terrified, but the white eyes were making it hard for her to stop shaking. However, it didn't stop her from asking.

"Steve?"

 **Wow. I found that amazing. I'm looking forward to all your comments/reviews! Can't wait to see what you think! :P**

 **Oh, for Watcher321, you were pretty close with your guess on the last chapter. I love reading your reviews. Hehehe. :)**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619 See ya'll later!**


	12. Tremors

Chapter 12

 **Wow, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was a challenge to write. There's not really much to say on it, so read on and review me what you think and discover. Hehehe...**

* * *

"Steve?"

The white eyes made her nervous and they were staring her in the eye. The stallion was pacing, making nervous neighs and throwing his head around with his ears fully laid back, occasionally stopping to paw the ground in a show to intimidate. This told Solana that it wasn't Steve. She looked at the picture again, now seeing that the man standing on the roof was more muscular and his shoulders were broader. His hair was a little darker and longer. He seemed to be a little taller than Steve, but then again, Solana hadn't seen Steve since he disappeared from the Kingdom.

The man huffed, taking his diamond sword from the strap on his back and fully stood in the roof. He actually was, a little more than taller than Steve, and he started coming in her general direction. He jumped off the roof, landing gracefully on the pathway in front of the door. He raised his sword, only a little, as it was enough for her to know he meant violence. However, before she , or him for that matter, could do anything, the caramel stallion jumped between them, ears laid as flat as they could go. He lifted his two front hooves off the ground and neighed loudly before he dropped them on the ground, making the ground vibrate like a mild earthquake. He snorted, continuing to paw the ground to intimidate as he snorted loudly.

"What is this?" The white eyed man hissed as the stallion created another shake, seeming to make the very core of the earth vibrate. His eyes flicked from the stallion to Solana's sword. She shivered inwardly, not only at the deep voice, but also from the sudden fear she felt towards both the stallion and the man. He wanted to intimidate the man into retreating by creating powerful earthquakes that were rare to the citizens of the kingdoms. Both the man's voice and the stallions show of power were unexpected and, she had to admit, terrifying. "Did my brother summon you?" The horse stopped pawing the ground and looked at the man in curiosity, ears raising slightly. The stallion threw his head back again and stomped one last time, making the man nod, seeming unsurprised. The man then snorted, sheathing his sword and disappearing in a puff of white particles. The horse then snorted, mimicking the man before turning his head around to look at her, ears raised as high as they could go.

Solana sighed inwardly. Her instinct had told her to run for her life, from both the stallion and the man. Both had shown power, and both had tried to make the other back down. Her hand had found the hilt of her sword when the man had eyed it and she was prepared to draw it against anything if she had to. She was even prepared to draw it against the man, despite the powerful commanding air that surrounded him. The kind of air that told her I-can-kill-you-faster-than-you-can-blink. Which she found terrifying.

She heard a playful neigh and turned around to see the horse prancing around, throwing his head lightly as he looked at her with his charming clear ocean blue eyes. It almost looked like he was trying to smile at her.

"What?" Solana asked, smiling at his obviously failing attempt for a smile, feeling that the horse wanted her to do something. Then her question was answered as the horse started moving towards the house, stopping beside the door and turned around to look at her again. "Oh, you want me to go inside. I see." She moved closer to the door and for some reason, she decided to turn around. What she saw, half-hidden behind the tree-line, was a green eyed Endermen. He blinked, then disappeared. She was stunned for a little second. Suddenly, without warning, the green-eyed Endermen appeared in front of her and she yelped, instinctively drawing Gideon, her iron-obsidian sword, brandishing it against the unknown foe. The horse waved his head, flicking his lovely black tail a few times before looking curiously at the Endermen, who narrowed his eyes and slightly bared his teeth as he saw the jewel in her hand, disappearing soon after in a puff of green particles.

After checking the area rather carefully, she determined that the Endermen was gone and headed into the house, the horse stayed outside and grazed as she went around the house, searching for anything useful. She didn't find much and returned outside, taking a look at the paths. The one on the far left of the house led to the Standing Stone, the one in the middle led to the village, and the last one... she wasn't sure. Solana smiled to herself, the path on the right was where she was headed. It was unknown territory, a new adventure. It was her destination. In one fluid motion, she put the jeweled necklace around her neck, looking at the picture one last time before heading towards the untraveled path.

* * *

An low rumbling ran through the castle, like a deep voice trying unsuccessfully to say something while making the walls vibrate and the paintings shake. The king sat on his high throne, looking miserable as the two assassins he had recently sent out were back. With nothing.

"I told you to come back once you had his HEAD!" The king bellowed, clenching his fist around the armrest of his golden throne, making his knuckles turn white. The two assassins flinched, not daring to look up at the enraged king.

"Sir, with all due respect, we have a good explanation." One of them tried, slightly raising his head to catch a glimpse at the kings face, only to find that the king was glowering down at them, and quickly lowered it again. The assassin already knew what his Majesty was going to say, but decided to elaborate anyways.

"What IS IT?!"

"Sir, we witnessed your daughter, the Princess Solana, riding out of town on an unsaddled caramel stallion. What caught our attention was that she was heading out into the forest and refused to collaborate with us."

The air got dense and started to fill with suspense as the kings rage meter slowly filled to the brim. Finally he sighed, taking his glass staff and rubbing his eyes.

"Why did you not follow her, then?" The assassins were surprised, as the kings voice was not filled with rage, but more with worry when the conversation turned to his daughter. He eyed them critically, looking for a weak spot to explode upon and get rid of them.

"Well, sir, we thought it would be best if we were to report this to you right away. Or else, if she found that assassins were following her..." The assassins voice faded off as he lowered the hood further down onto his head, wanting nothing more than to avoid the kings rage. His sentence however, was finished by the last person he expected to see in the kings throne room.

"...she might think that you were sent to kill her, correct?"

A small man with a note pad and pencil came from behind the throne, eying the assassins, who were staring at him with mild surprised. He gave them a warm smile before turning to the king, who looked like he might explode at any minute. However, the king fell forward as the castle shook again, this time more violently, making numerous paintings fall loosely to the floor. The chandelier shook, threatening to fall down upon them all any second, but then the tremors stopped. The kings rage was temporarily forgotten, as his castle was shaking again, this time a little less violently, but just enough to worry.

"What is wrong? What keeps causing all these earthquakes? Al, can you deduct anything?" The king turned towards his assistant while trying to fix up his dusty clothes. Al only looked at him with a disapproving look.

"Not really. And you have read my name tag wrong, sir. It is not A-L, as you say it, but rather these are my initials, A. I." The small man with the note pad said. His king was looking at him just as he was the assassins a little while ago, his eyes full of anger and madness, but also worry for his daughter.

"Then what do I call you, if your name's not Al?"

"A. I. would do just fine, sir, thank you." The small man blushed only a little, holding his notepad close to his face as to hide his small smile. He then dropped his notepad down to his side and rubbed the back of his bald head, trying to contain a bigger smile and an even bigger blush.

"Fine." The King turned back to the assassins, eyeing them sternly. "Go get my Hunters and tell them to find my daughter and bring her back unharmed. If she is harmed in the slightest, their punishment will be death! Now get GOING!" The assassins rushed out of the room, leaving not a single trace that they were ever there.

The small man with the note pad smiled and disappeared in a puff of golden particles, his brown eyes never leaving the throne on which the king, consumed with worry and sadness, sat upon.

* * *

She started sprinting, the stallion trotting behind her to catch up and eventually he was trotting happily at a mild pace beside her. She smiled and hopped onto his golden caramel back, successfully, and laughed as he started galloping, making the wind hit her face and whip her hair around. Soon, he started slowing down as the grass darkened suddenly, going from a clear, natural green to a dark unhealthy black. The stallion stopped as they came in sight of what looked like a campsite. A very destroyed campsite. Bodies littered the area, but something was odd about the bodies. Everyone of them had their clothes on, but they looked rather thin. As she got off her companion, she bent down, keeping balance by putting her hands on the floor. She was hesitant to touch the hood and unsheathed her sword, lowering it to lift the hood of the nearest body, an assassin. What was underneath, however, made her gasp and drop the hood back down, pulling away from the body and looking at the campsite in horror.

Underneath all the clothes were skeletons.

These people, most of which she didn't know, worked for her father. The enigma on most of their clothing was enough to tell her that much. She kept looking around, trying to find at least one thing that could help her identify what killed these men. She picked up a dagger, but as she held it up, the gleaming iron turned black and crumbled to dust. The stallion came up behind her, nuzzling her back. When she turned around, she saw that his ears were laid back against his head as he sniffed the air. He snorted a few times and started walking off. Solana sheathed her sword and clenched her hands. Who or what would do this? Her golden hair almost shone like a torch in the dark, blurry environment, lighting most of the ground, which was beginning to look like a dark red.

However, as she started following the stallion, her hands felt funny, as if there was something kind of gooey on them. She lifted her hands up to her face and had to resist the urge to scream and run away from the scene, running desperately from the campsite she now never wanted to see again. She could almost hear the bones rattling, the terrified screams of terror as the unknown enemy killed them mercilessly... A neigh drew her from her thoughts. She looked at the beautiful eyes of the stallion, only noticing them now, and gaped at their beauty. They looked like the sky, endless clear blue with no limit. It made her smile and forget her dreadful thoughts.

However, that didn't stop Solana from wiping her hands on her pants, as they were stained with blood and ash.

* * *

He felt warm liquid run down the side of his cheek and tightening his grip on his sword, he clicked his tongue. He had found out that during a fight, tapping your foot could be the last move you made, you could end up tripping or being distracted. Instead, he found a way to make it easier for him to track down the Endermen. One, listen, and two, if that doesn't work, be patient. He waited for the echo to come back and when it did, it revealed nothing but stone. Great. The Endermen up and left him. How wonderful. It could be a hoax, but he doubted it.

He moved forward, still clicking his tongue, and felt a small pain in his back that sent him tumbling forward. Instinctively, he raised his sword, somehow hearing the enemies blade cutting through the air and coming straight towards him. The opponents sword smacked against his own and he fought to stay in place, holding back the sword. Eventually, he lost his foothold and was sent flying into a stone wall. He tried to move, but felt a small pressure being pushed onto his neck and he stopped, dropping his sword. Slowly the pressure was removed.

' _Not bad. You improved, somewhat. You decided to use your tongue instead of your feet, which makes a much more acute sound and also allows you to have more mobility, to distinguish your surroundings with more...precision. Very clever. However, you still lack a little sense of direction in coordinating your attacks. Although, this is your first try, so I will not be as harsh in my judgement._ '

Steve felt a little wave of emotion move through him. Greenscale rarely praised him. If he ever did, it was to give him advice on how to do better. Now he stood, barely, huffing and puffing at the effort he put into the training, while Greenscale just stood calmly like he's been using a sword all his life. Honestly, he liked being around the Endermen, it felt... natural for some odd reason. It almost reminded him of his friendship with Casroth, but it wasn't close. It felt nice to have a friend again, even if he was a mob. It hasn't been that long since they were practicing his sword fighting, maybe a few hours, a day, he couldn't be sure. The caves were tricky that way, but he didn't let time bother him, nor the pain. It wasn't worth complaining about the pain.

As he was looking through the darkness for those familiar green eyes, listening for the slightest sound of shuffling feet or even the odd sound of the Endermen's teleportation, he couldn't help but think of his new friend. He was growing rather fond of the Endermen, and he guessed that Greenscale thought likewise. Sure, during practice he would hit Steve, but his hits were half-hearted, not meant to hurt as much as they were supposed to.

Steve chuckled lightly, now noticing that Greenscale was getting a little serious as he felt another sharp blow to his gut. He ignored the burning feeling he had within his gut and simply laughed for a few short moments, making the Endermen wonder what was funny.

' _Pardon me, but I fail to understand why you are laughing. I hit you a little harder than usual, so you should not be laughing so much..._ ' His green eyes were narrowed in confusion as Steve only laughed harder. A small tremble, however, was enough to stop him.

"What was that?" He whispered, panic slowly creeping up into his voice as it echoed off the walls for a few moments, with no results other than countless echoes that bounced back. Suddenly, another tremble, this time bigger than the previous one, shook the cave to the point that it caused a tremendous crack that echoed terribly loud throughout the whole cave system. Everything was shaking, stones were falling out of place.

The thunderous sound echoed horribly through the cave, as if a new ravine was being created which made Steve cry out in pain and tumble to the ground, dropping his sword. Various pieces of stone shook loose as the ground vibrated with enormous force. The sound was unbearable to Steve, who was in a rather soundless cave for a while and that the sudden return of a very loud sound was almost enough for him to scream out in pain and cover his ears. He felt small claws dig into his side and try to lift him off the ground, but just as he was standing, everything stopped.

Everything just...stopped. The trembling, the horrible cracks, everything. It was almost heaven to Steve when it all stopped. But what in the world was that? Both he and Greenscale were confused and wondered what may have caused this series of terrible tremors.

' _Are you alright?_ ' Greenscale finally broke the silence, worry ringing loud and clear in his voice. Steve could only nod, as his ears were ringing terribly from the sudden loud sounds. He was glad. His life here underground was...interesting, to say the least.

"I'm...I am fine..." He said, hesitant to actually say anything over the shock from the tremors. However, he soon got out of it when Greenscale came in front of him and looked him right in the eye, his clawed hands resting on both of Steve's shoulders as he drew him in, narrowing his eyes to indicated seriousness.

' _Do you wish to investigate these phenomena? If so, it would require going back to the surface._ '

* * *

 **So? What do you think? Review me what you think. We actually got more info on Al, interesting. R &R please! The reviews are motivation for me to write chapter at least once a week! They make me so happy. Toodles!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619.**


	13. Investigate

Chapter 13

 **Hello, how is everyone going? I finally managed to find the time to upload this. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I was trying to fix some things to make it fit together. Anyhoot, with over 1000 views, I hope you will drop a review and love this chapter. :)**

She clutched the horses mane with one hand and put the other over her mouth to avoid throwing up. After seeing the campsite in such a terrible condition, she was horrified. She never wanted to see anything like that again. The horse was walking for only a short while before he stopped in front of the broad entrance of a cavern. Solana, who was still replaying the images in her mind, didn't notice. The horse gave a little neigh, trying to break her trance, and eventually, she looked up lazily. Noting that they had stopped, she slid off the stallions back, sluggishly landing on the ground. However, she composed herself and made her way to the caves entrance.

She couldn't help but think of her friend, wondering why her father did what he did. She was more than convinced that he had at least arranged the murder and then hired an assassin to finish the job. Why? That was all she could ask herself. Her father had once been a generous man and fair ruler. All he had once wanted to do was sever and protect the citizens. Now, after the death of his wife, her mother, she had noticed a change. Being her father, he still wanted to protect and serve his kingdom, but he took his desires to extremes.

She shook her head, getting rid of the undesired thoughts. However, as she was moving towards the cave, she couldn't help but think of the campsite with all the withered skeletons, the blood soaked grass, the tainted air... She shook her head again, scowling at herself for feeling so weak. She had seen blood before, she had slain before. So, why was she feeling so...weak? She didn't understand where the feeling was coming from. She clutched her stomach, trying to suppress that sickening feeling whenever she thought of the campsite draped in silence and littered with bones. Just as she was about to enter the cave, she heard the soft neigh of the stallion and turned to look at him.

His ears were fully laid back and he was pacing, flicking his tail and swinging his mane around, sometimes even picking his hooves off the ground to pound down again, creating very mild earthquakes. At first glance, she thought he was trying to harm her, or even intimidate her, which made her hand move instinctively to her swords hilt. However, knowing the stallion, she knew he wasn't trying to harm her in any way and turned around, hand still on the hilt of her sword. At first, she saw nothing and looked back at the stallion with an annoyed glance. Her companion, however, only lifted his head, his ears still laid back and he snorted.

A small chuckle made her turn around and look above the entrance of the cavern. Seeing a cyan shirt, dark blue pants and a diamond sword strapped to his back, she unsheathed Gideon. Brandishing her weapon against the being, she slowly backed away to rejoin her companion. The man looked at her lazily, a small smile breaking across his face.

She tried to bite down on her fear, but she couldn't help it. His presence was unsettling. And her past experiences didn't help either. From the legends that she's been told, she couldn't help but imagine him as the culprit for killing the men at the campsite. But she couldn't think of a reason as to why he would have done it. Her father would have told her it was because he could. He had the power to do so and wrecked havoc on the world for the fun of it. He would have told her just about anything to make her fear him. Now she was doubting everything he had told her, everything she knew. She now wanted the truth, the whole truth.

She wanted answers, and the horse had led her to Casroth's Standing Stone, then to Steve's house, where she looked through a few things before he led her to the campsite. Then he had led her here. She had wanted answers all along to questions she didn't know, but now those questions started forming, stirring up confusion within her mind. Confused in her thoughts about the man standing not too far from her, sitting actually and looking to be pretty lazy, she lowered her sword, but then held it up again when she saw him slowly get up and land lazily with a small thud. She wanted to glare, but found that she could not.

"You seem confused."

The sudden deep, echoing voice made her drop everything off her mind to focus on the approaching man, but that was harder said than done, as the figure walking towards her at a leisurely pace also had a diamond sword within arm's reach. She didn't answer or attempt to respond, in fear that she might say something that might upset the being and she didn't need that, not now.

"I...am." She croaked, then scrunched up her face in disgust at the sound of her voice. She then tried again with a more determined expression on her face. "I am."

Once the man was within striking distance, the stallion came forward and almost wedged himself between Solana and the man, snorting and starting to paw the ground again. The man now had an annoyed look on his face and reached for his sword, pulling it out of its sheath faster than she could blink, which made Solana step forward and raise her own sword to level with his neck, a dark look on her face.

"Lower your blade." She hissed, looking straight into those white eyes without a hint of fear. She was in defense mode, ready to slay anyone who hurt or lay a finger on her friends.

"I don't think so, _Princess_." He snarled, immediately crouching and throwing himself aside to avoid the caramel stallions thundering hooves. The stallion, now seemingly angry, tried to kick the man over and over again as the man kept rolling away and dodging. His calm and lazy attitude was gone and suddenly he flashed away in a haze of white particles. Solana felt the eerie presence disappear, which made her tense. Right after he disappeared, she heard the stallion coming towards her and instinctively turned around; raising her sword, she swung it in an ark around her. Her iron-obsidian blade made contact with the dark blue diamond blade, sending a sliver of pain up her arm from the strain.

"Nice blade. Where'd you get it from?" He taunted, even though it sounded like a legit question. The man cracked a grin on his face, adding pressure and almost crushing her with brute force. Her strength wasn't enough to best this man, as he was crushing her with one hand, while she was trying to defend with two hands. "It reminds me of my brothers. He had one that looked exactly the same, you know." It almost made her want to cower before him, as she knew she was most likely going to die by his hands without doing any of the things she wanted to do, like get answers and find a legend. She knew she couldn't give in, as her kingdom's fate rested upon her shoulders. She glared right into those soulless white eyes and bared her teeth, pushing with every ounce of her body to move the man off her. Slowly, with lots of struggling, she was pushing him back. He was surprised, and grew even more surprised when she found the strength to shove him away, huffing loudly afterwards and smiling at her accomplishment.

"You don't give up do you?" The man, however, didn't look too happy, especially when she shook her head and lifted her sword again, offering another go despite being barely able to keep her sword up.

"Never in a million years. I will find a way to stop my father's insane plans. Even if it means working with his enemy." He betrayed confusion for a very brief moment before laughing and raised his hand, snapping his finger. The sky grew incredibly dark within moments and thunder rumbled, making her a little nervous at what was going to happen. Then the rain came, a small drizzle at first, but was quickly intensifying.

"Well, then. Consider this a gift from me." He then pointed to her, a smile still plastered on his face. She stood there, unsure what to do, until sudden pain was greeted in the form of white haze and heard the loudest thunder boom she's _ever_ heard in her entire life. Now she knew what to do: scream. She screamed at both the pain all over her body and the terrible loudness of the thunder that seemed to come from around her. It felt as if a thousand volts was coursing through her body, and probably was. She couldn't see, nor hear anything. The last thing she saw after the intense white, was the welcoming black.

* * *

He heard the girl scream as the lightning struck, just as he knew she has tried to restrain herself from screaming. However, with at least a few thousand volts traveling through her body, altering her body's makeup and providing mutations, she couldn't help but scream. Humans were so weak. Of course, he was monitoring the lightning to prevent any permanent damage that was not wanted. In total, the ordeal lasted a minute or so before the thunder eventually faded out and the lightning disappeared into the royal girl, who had fallen to the ground, looking almost dead if it weren't for her breathing. After she had passed out from the seemingly terrible pain, a few sparks of lightning flew off her skin here and there. Her body twitched here and there with the occasional convulsion as the lightning ran through her system. Her hand slipped from the hugged position she was in and fell with a small thud on the ground.

He smiled at his handiwork, wondering why he had done what he did. He didn't kill her, even though she was daughter to the man that wanted to kill him. He looked at the horse, who was now sniffing her hair and nudging her head. It was truly a beautiful being, a caramel steed with black stockings and mane. The horse then lifted his head as he heard the sound of the man's footsteps crunching on the semi-soft grass, ears laid fully back as he started to paw the ground, giving a clear warning.

' _What is it you want, Herobrine?_ ' The telepathic voice reached his mind and he nodded, satisfied that it was indeed his brother's creation and sheathed his sword. The man, Herobrine, almost rolled his eyes. ' _She only searches the answers to her questions._ '

"Not much. I just don't want to be killed again." He mused, purposely ignoring the last statement, eying the girl on the floor. After sheathing his diamond blade, he crouched on the forest floor and snapped his fingers again. The rain immediately turned to a slight drizzle, then stopped completely, only after the rain was gone did the clouds start to dissipate. "So, why are you helping the people who want me dead? I'm curious, _Gideon_ , do tell."

' _It is very simple. She has even told you. She does not agree with her father's way of doing certain things, such as gain more respect and trust from those which he rules and governs by destroying you. Surely you already know of the Kings plan by now, right?_ ' The stallion then took a few steps towards Herobrine and nudged his arm with his nuzzle, snorting a little before turning to look at the girl again.

"Ugh, stop it." Herobrine shooed the horse away with a wave of his hand and a scowl on his face, not happy with the sudden unexpected affection he was getting from the stallion. He then lazily vanished in a haze of white particles to reappear sitting above the cave like he was prior to the 'fight', if one could call it that. "You even gave her strength to overpower me. Why?" The horse then turned his attention to Herobrine again and looked him square in the eye, seeming surprised that the powerful man changed the subject so quickly, it almost seemed like the horse was trying to lift an eyebrow, which made the situation a little humorous. The horse walked over to the edge of the cave, speaking to the powerful being that sat lazily on top of the cave.

' _It is just as you said. You saw potential in her. So did I._ ' Once the horse had reached the edge of ledge on which the powerful being sat, the powerful being reached his hand down and pat the horse on the head. Herobrine scowled playfully, gently rubbing the horses snout and then playing with his ears, chucking softly.

"So, what are you going to do with her now, Gideon?" The caramel stallion snorted and drew his head away from Herobrine's caressing hand, his clear blue eyes looking deep into Herobrine's glowing white ones.

' _I will have to see. I cannot leave her here, so I might as well take her someplace safe where she can rest and recuperate her strength._ ' He looked behind him at the girl again, and seeing that the shocks on her skin had vanished, walked over to her side. ' _I actually have an idea where we might take refuge for the time being._ ' He lowered his head and sniffed her again before being enveloped with a soft golden light. With his heightened senses, Herobrine could see that inside the curtain of light, the stallions form shrunk until he was the size of the average human. Only then did the light disappear to reveal, indeed, a human.

In general, he still looked like the stallion, but the fur was replaced with a caramel trench-coat made of the finest leather and wool. He wore black shoes, had black hair, and even wore black gloves. His clear blue eyes, now seeming brighter than before, looked up from the girl to meet Herobrine's own eyes.

' _I have but one question before I leave._ '

"Alright, then. Shoot."

' _What happened to the campsite not too far from here?_ ' Seeing the being's eyes narrow in confusion, he added. ' _Surely you must know something, if you were not the one to commit the destruction and take those lives, correct?_ ' He looked at Herobrine, those bright blue eyes hoping for an answer and possibly an explanation, but Herobrine only stared blankly.

"If I may, what did the campsite look like?" He inquired. "Was it charred? Was the grass covered in blood? What did the scene look like, if you had a good look at it?"

' _It was...terrible. There were bodies everywhere, who were reduced to skeletons but still had their clothes on. The air had an unnatural tang to it. The grass was indeed covered in blood, but there was a thin layer of some black substance on it. Nothing was charred, everything just seemed to have...rotted._ ' Gideon shuddered from head to toe, scrunching his face in disgust and mild fear. Sudden realization then struck Herobrine as he replayed what Gideon had just said. He knew who might've done this. No, he knew who did it and he was guessing there was a good reason.

"I... I believe I know who committed that heinous act." He took deep breath, knowing Gideon was listening intently. "I believe it could have been my...eh...assistant. I had told him to ward off anyone from this area due to some unwanted humans previously wandering in my caves. I did not intent for him to kill those in the nearby campsite." A lie. Herobrine knew that he had told the Endermen to ward off anyone nearby the caves, but he had also told him to make sure none dared venture close to it and the Endermen had done a splendid job.

Seeming satisfied with his answer, Gideon nodded and raised his hand in farewell with a warm smile, Herobrine nodding his head with similar intentions, before the man raised his other hand and snapped his fingers; both he and the royal girl disappeared in a haze of light golden particles.

"I will meet you soon, Steve. Soon." He mused to himself, smiling at the thought of finally meeting the man that he saved a few days ago; the man he had seen so much potential in. Only shortly after the duo disappeared and the haze of particles vanished, did Herobrine follow suit, disappearing in a haze of bright white particles while giving a big smile and a soft chuckle.

 **Hehe. What Herobrine did will be explained and used in future chapters, so don't worry. So, we found something out about the caramel steed Solana rides. Tell me what you think in the reviews, they really motivate me. Toodles!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619**


	14. Surprises

Chapter 14

 **Hey there everyone, sorry for not posting this anytime soon. I am VERY busy and on vacation somewhere I've never been, so this is a little stressing for me. Not to worry, here is Chapter 14. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for SO MANY views! You guys are awesome. Please like, love, read and review!**

He reappeared in a haze of light golden particles and took a good look around. The building was made with skilled hands, the wood being nicely placed with a specific pattern he started to notice: birch, birch, pine, pine, pine over and over again, forming the beautiful floor pattern. Something stirred at his feet and he looked down, almost in fear but it quickly turned to guilt. He had almost forgotten about Solana. He grinned sheepishly and bent down to pick her up, his face going red as he noted she was heavier than she looked.

After having placed her on the bed which he now leaned on, he watched her as she slept and would occasionally see a spark or two of lightning travel across her skin for a brief moment. Time passed, as it always did, and he lost track of it or rather, he didn't keep track of it. Why bother, when time for him has already stopped carrying him around like it did for the rest of civilization?

Ugh... Another thing to think about was civilization. People had grown so stupid over the years it was unbearable for him to watch them develop any further. He remembered his own time, when people had done everything out of free will with less anarchy as possible, to avoid confrontations and rivalries that might end up to a full scale war. What would happen if the king took drastic measures against Master Herobrine? He had already tried to kill Master Notch and even risked his _entire_ kingdom just to bring him down to the Overworld. What would happen to all the innocent citizens that lived there if he decided to engage Master Herobrine to a challenge? What about the surrounding kingdoms? Knowing Master Herobrine, he knew everything would be utterly destroyed.

"The king is so stupid." He murmured to himself, putting his head down onto his arms, which were supported by his knees. A small rustle of movement caught his attention and he turned his head to look straight into the silvery eyes of the princess. He knew then he would have to do a lot of explaining, especially if she wanted answers.

"And who in the blazes would you be to call my father stupid?"

He mentally face-palmed himself. ' _Well, SHIT._ '

* * *

As they were walking, well, the Endermen was actually leading him most of the way, as he bumped into a lot of items and slowed their progress quite a bit. Down in the cave, even the Endermen couldn't tell time and estimated that they've been walking for a while now, maybe half a day at most.

' _That explains my growling stomach._ ' Steve concluded, putting his hand on his stomach, wanting to ease the loud growl. He felt like he hadn't eaten anything in days, maybe even longer and the thought of food somehow fueled his aching feet and legs to keep climbing and keep going.

' _Does the thought of food encourage you to move forward despite your obvious difficulties in navigating the cavern, Steve?_ ' Greenscale asked. It was a legitimate question, at least, it sounded like one. His friend seemed awfully curious and he even turned his head to Steve, his emerald-green eyes illuminating the area around. The least he deserved was an answer, but before Steve could answer, his stomach growled and he thought of the foods he could eat to fill his empty stomach. Steaks cooked just right, pumpkin pie made just perfect and even a few ripe apples here and there. The thought almost made him drool, but he knew he couldn't find any food in the caves, so the only other option was the surface. His friend looked at him in wonder, then nodded in understanding.

' _I believe that my observation is true, then?_ ' Steve grinned sheepishly and nodded, glad that he had the darkness to obscure his expression. Together they continued to ascend into the world above he so desperately wanted to see. During most of the way, there was not very much talking, a few questions from Greenscale and then, pretty much nothing.

' _Can I ask you a question?_ ' Steve nodded. He was so obsessed with food right now that he has moving a little faster than his Endermen friend and had to wait up. ' _What do you think of the AI?_ '

"The AI?" He rasped. He had almost forgotten about his voice, if such a thing were possible. "You mean the Ancient Immortals?" The mob nodded. Coughing a few times into his hand, he thought about what he knew. "Well, they are our gods are they not? Before I left the kingdom, I heard some..." He paused to cough. "...things about them."

' _What manner of things? Can you elaborate?_ ' The mob narrowed his eyes, watching his human friend from a short distance.

"I heard that they've returned, well, not both of them anyway." He paused to sigh, remembering the events perfectly, although he didn't want to. "It was back when I was with the kingdom, back when Casroth was the Brainmaster for the King. I had heard from Casroth, who had heard from the King, that one of the two was dead, and the other was the next on his list."

' _What do you mean to say, Steve? I do not understand._ '

"I mean to say that Notch was rumored to have died..." He said softly. "...and by the hands of that worthless King, nonetheless." The Endermen's soft footsteps slowed then stopped, which made Steve stop and turn to face him, using his eyes as guidance in the darkness. The glow of his eyes almost seemed to have died down a little.

' _Died?_ ' His voice was soft and low in Steve's head, which he guessed was as much as a whisper as it could be. How could one whisper with a telepathic voice anyways? ' _Do you know how he was killed?_ ' Steve scratched his head, letting the question sink in for a while.

"Well..." He began, digging in his memory to remember the details. "Cas had said that he was stabbed with an enchanted sword, but I don't remember what it was called. He said it was a special sword," They resumed walking. "one that was _made_ to defeat the gods." He knew the name, it was on the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn't place it. What _was_ it?

' _Could it have been named Gideon, the Godslayer?_ ' Steve stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the Endermen. ' _What?_ ' He shrugged, narrowing his eyes at the human. The human did the same.

"How did you know that? Cas had a hard time getting that information. Gideon was said to have been created by a human, the first and true King, and also blessed by both creators. " They continued to climb, as the cave was starting to grow steep, which either meant a cliff, or a ravine, but they were still in darkness, so he went with the beginning of a ravine.

' _That was over two hundred years ago._ ' Greenscale growled, baring his teeth in defense. He grabbed a hold of Steve's cloak and together they vanished, reappearing in a haze of emerald-green particles at the top of the steep cave, then he did the same thing again to reach the top the ravine. ' _Humans are not all the same as the First. After the First died, it was seen as a powerful weapon and was used to rid the Overworld of the creatures of night by greedy humans for quite some time. It was only until it was handed down to the present king did the gods ever try and take it from him. It only resulted in having one of the brothers killed!_ '

"You said it was used to slay the creatures of the night, meaning it also had the title of _Mobslayer_." His friend nodded. "Great, so much history in such little time." He growled inwardly. Everything he was hearing now was contradicting what he was taught in school, not that he attended much anyways, but when he did attend whatever said made no sense. "Wait," he paused their long climb. "if he was rumored to have died just recently, how could it be known as _Godslayer_ and not _Mobslayer_? Hasn't that title been around for much longer?"

' _The brothers are only what's left of the gods. All the rest have either been killed by the sword or decided to hide from it and its power._ '

"The rest? You mean there used to be more? How much more are we talking about?" Two gods were enough, but back in the day there must've been maybe a few more, as the two that are alive today are rumored to pretty damn powerful and sometimes reckless. ' _Dear Notch._ ' He thought. ' _What horrible atrocities did human kind commit?_ '

' _Dozens surely, maybe even going into a hundred._ ' Greenscale stopped to think, tapping his fingers on his temple, at least, what would've been the temple for humans, but Steve couldn't be sure. The green light from his eyes were the only source of light in these dark caves, so it was hard to tell his exact movements and facial features.

His first thought: ' _You're kidding._ ' His second thought: ' _No, I think he's serious._ ' The blade had after all gained the title of _Godslayer_ , but if only two were left, that means the gods were nearly hunted to extinction. He shivered at the thought, despite the rising temperature.

"Why would they start hunting the gods? What would they gain from killing them?" He asked, it was more of a lust for the truth, but the question was mostly directed to himself. What _could_ humans gain from the gods that would drive them to kill their creators and superiors? He wiped his brow, feeling the sweat run down his chin and it being a little harder to breathe, as the air was full of moisture. His dry mouth almost watered at the thought of water.

' _I do not know. I do not possess the truth, at least, not the entire truth._ ' For a little while, they traveled in silence. But soon enough, Steve could almost swear his friend was leaning up against him, as he felt a cold tingle at the base of his neck and he was unable to resist numerous shivers and goose-bumps. The rising temperature didn't seem to make a difference. He turned around, only to find that his friend was also looking somewhere behind him, as if looking for something. He was getting so sweaty, it felt disgusting wearing his cloak, but he kept shivering and so he kept it on.

He had this uneasy feeling that someone was watching him, as if someone was keeping a close eye on him. The only thing he could see was the illuminated area near Greenscale's eyes, namely his face. The only thing he could hear was their footsteps, Greenscale's soft footsteps and...wait. They had stopped moving, so who's footsteps was echoing across the cavern? They were soft, but they were far away, the echo was what made them seem closer. Still, the thought of someone following them made him on edge and he went to put his hand on the hilt of his iron sword, somehow knowing he was going to hold it for a while.

Reluctantly, they looked at each other and resumed their climb to the surface. Eventually, they were growing so restless that Greenscale teleported them near the surface of the cave. As soon as the green particles cleared from Steve's face, he was overwhelmed with heat and brightness. He was only able to sharply cry out and shield his eyes for a brief moment before his knees buckled and he collapsed, the Endermen catching him before he fell to the ground.

' _Steve?_ ' It was no use, he was unconscious. What was wrong with him? Greenscale couldn't answer his own question, he didn't know enough about humans to heal one. His Master was good at that, but him? Maybe if he brought him home, hopefully that would help. With that he started teleporting.

* * *

He watched as they teleported away, Steve having suddenly collapsed onto the ground. Being underground had its flaws, even for a short while. However, Steve had first been unconscious for a few days, no doubt. The cave was cold and dark, whereas the Overworld was bright and warm, even in the night.

"Now, _that_ must've been a shock to his body, especially his eyes." He muttered to himself, slowly chuckling. The Endermen looked panicked, which surprised the powerful being, only in the slightest. It was rare to see such a bond between man and beast nowadays. The Endermen then vanished in a haze of emerald-green particles again. He blinked, then smiled. This was going to be interesting. If he was heading where he thought he was headed... Oh. That was something he certainly wanted to see. It would certainly be worth his time.

The only thing that bothered Herobrine was the conversation he had heard between the Endermen, which Steve had referred to as 'Greenscale', which the being found to be a strange name for a mob. Some of the things they had said had reminded him of the past, and his past wasn't the prettiest. He scowled at the thoughts that flooded his mind and forcefully pushed them away.

He carefully followed them and almost laughed out loud. "So, you _did_ go there. This will certainly be entertaining." The powerful man mused, sitting on the branch of a nearby tree and waiting to see what would happen.

* * *

He couldn't of thought of his day getting any worse. First, he had blurted out that the king was stupid, second, he had let himself be discovered in his human form, and third, the Endermen suddenly appearing _did not_ help him in any way.

He was trying to protect his identity, but the girl guessed who he was pretty quickly, which surprised him. She then glared at him, trying to get answers by asking a bazillion questions at the same time and not giving him any time to answer, which was great.

Just as he was trying to answer some of her questions, the _green_ skinned Endermen appeared with a cloaked human in its arms. That's right, he said _green skinned_. It looked at him once, then turned his head to the girl, then back again. He barred his teeth in defense, but didn't make any moves against them except putting the human in the bed beside Solana. It was only when he saw her face did he understand.

"Steve?" Her hands shook. Tears rimmed her eyes.

She knew him, and by the look on her face, she knew him personally. He was more than a friend, it seemed. The only thing that bothered him was the Endermen. How did this man befriend a mob? And a strange one at that. The Endermen looked at him, glaring at him darkly, as if somehow _knowing_ who he was and hated him.

 **So, how was that? Tell me what you think, I'm dying to know! Things are starting to get a little interesting, it seems, right? I love your reviews, so keep 'em coming! Anyways, Toodles!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619**


	15. More than a memory

Chapter 15

 **Hello my fellow readers. I am back with Chapter 15 of The Fall of Minecraftia! OMG! I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting, getting back to school is hard, especially for my last year, so I don't know how much I'll be able to post, but that doesn't matter. I will never stop writting my stories for the people who love to read them, so go ahead and read on! I look forward to your reviews and what you think of this new chapter.**

A little while ago...

...

He mentally face-palmed himself. ' _Well, SHIT._ '

She looked at him expectantly. "Well? Have at it, I'm dying to know why you think my father is stupid." He had to be honest, despite being at least a few hundred years old and not easily frightened or intimidated, she was the first person to give him the creeps. It seemed like Master Herobrine was against him as well, as sparks were jumping off her skin and making the air smell strongly ozone.

' _Don't give away too much, you idiot._ ' He turned to look at her now electrified silver eyes, gathering his shocked courage. "For me it was easy to deduct, as...eh...I noticed how he treats his citizens." She gave him a questioning look that also held confusion and curiosity. "You do know of the kings plan, yes?" She looked away and nodded. "I figured that for now, during his reign, if his plan goes accordingly, then he will be able to reclaim a portion of the glory he thought was lost. However, by doing so, when the citizens finally catch wind of his plans it will cause drastic consequences to, not just your kingdom, but every other kingdom as well." She eyed him cautiously.

"Liiiiike what?" She inquired. He could tell she was having ideas, but nothing compared to what he believed would happen to the kingdoms.

"War, most likely." He said, trying to keep his face from revealing too much and he eventually looked away. "Which will lead to the end of your era. The kingdoms will literally destroy each other to the point that the brothers will be forced to interfere."

She chuckled, but it was very low, as if she was forcing herself to laugh. "Is it that bad? I mean, what could the brothers do to stop a war between the seven kingdoms? It would be impossible."

"You're right. It would be impossible." He said, obviously catching her off guard. She was stunned and smiled in victory, but then it dropped rather quickly with his next statement. "However, I never said they were merciful." Her silver eyes widened, possibly in realization and she looked away again. "Well, I never said _both_ were merciful, but you can always hope."

"Hold on." Her tone of voice made him twitch and tense, which she saw. "Does that mean you know them? And another thing, how do _you_ know of my father's plans?" He was about to ask what she meant, but she forged on ahead, not giving him time to answer. "Judging by what you said, I can assume you either witnessed the same events happen, which I strongly doubt, or you know them to a certain degree. So, which one is it, _Gideon_?"

' _SHIT! How did she find out? I haven't told anybody in at least 200 years, easy! So, how the HELL does she know?_ ' He managed to keep a straight face, but sweat was pouring down his face like a river and it certainly seemed to amuse her for some odd reason. Sparks jumped from her skin and he tried to look unfazed. Either that or he was reading her emotions wrong, which wouldn't surprise him.

He tried to think of a way to make a comeback, to protect both himself and the girl from future harm, but then the strangest thing that could've happened to him in his entire life appeared right in front of him. It took him a moment to identify the creature as it put a cloaked figure on the bed beside Solana before stepping back and looking at him with squinty green eyes.

The green skin... The small hints of ominous black fog... An obvious bond between human and beast... It started coming back to him then. He remembered the things he had committed when he was King, the things people thought were good deeds... Beside him, he heard Solana remove the cloak from the man's face and gaped in surprise, putting her hand over her mouth as tears rimmed her eyes.

"Steve?" Her hands started to shake as she reached out to him.

The greened skinned entity was looking at him with his narrowed eyes, glaring at him in a dark manner. As if he knew him from somewhere. Looking at him as if he knew him personally. Like he knew him and hated him. What was this creature? Or rather..

Who was he?

* * *

"Steve? Wake up. I'm waiting for you to get up, silly."

He blinked a few times, wondering what was happening and where he was. His field of vision was dark and felt hostile, but he felt something else too. He knew someone was there watching him and it felt comforting, even if he didn't know who was watching over him. Maybe it was Greenscale, or maybe it was the unknown footsteps from the cave.

"Wake up, silly. Breakfast is just about ready."

Tensing up at the voice, he blinked again and slowly, the light returned to his eyes and he looked around. He could see the light of the sun shining through the small windows of what looked like a well kept house. The sweet smell of pine filled his nostrils and above that he could smell the mouth watering smell of cooking beef and eggs.

Slowly, he got up and felt a small pain in his head, but it soon cleared as he took a few tentative steps towards an open door that led into a brighter and seemingly more open area. As he was walking out, he saw a figure, one he recognized too well, kneeling down by a furnace to check on something cooking inside. His legs trembled and his hands shook. It was really him. It wasn't fake. It couldn't be. The figure slowly turned around and Steve almost burst out in tears.

"Steve, are you alright?" He asked, looking up from the furnace and walking up to him. Without saying anything, Steve wrapped his arms around his brother and buried his face in his shoulder. Still in silence, he hugged him back, knowing something was on his mind. Putting his own head on Steve's shoulder, he whispered. "Steve, what's wrong? You seem upset over something."

"Not much is wrong, I just wanted to see you again. That's all. You have no idea how much I've missed you, Cas." Steve whispered back. He hugged his brother a little tighter before letting him go enough to look at him square in the eye. In general, he looked just the same as before. His white shirt always hung loose on his thin frame and his black pants still looked too large for him. His eyes were still just as clear as the oceans, especially with the sun shining off them and they always made his hair seem to stand out even more.

"Steve, can I ask you a question?" His brother asked. He nodded, unable to speak in fear of bursting out in tears. "Who's Greenscale?" His expression almost dropped. ' _How did he know of Greenscale?_ ' His brother looked at him with a sad, and somewhat pained expression.

"What is it?" He croaked out. Did he somehow offend his brother? What did he do to make him so sad?

"Don't worry, it's not your fault Steve. Since that night, I've been able to see and hear a lot of things that would surprise you. Can I know who Greenscale is? You've been talking in your sleep lately and I've hear you say that name a few times now." His brother stepped back a bit and gave Steve a soft encouraging smile.

"Well, Greenscale is a friend of mine that I met in the caves near my house. He saved me from assassins a few times and even healed my wounds."

"Healed your wounds? Is your friend some sort of god?" Cas asked, leading Steve to the table and going to check on the food. He then came back with two plates filled with cooked eggs and beef. This question caught Steve off guard. Well, Greenscale was a mob of the night, and Steve doubted that he could heal wounds such as the one he had when Greenscale found him. "I see. So your friend is a mob. Is he an Endermen?" It didn't sound like Cas was upset, just very curious.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Steve asked. Where was Cas going with this? Could it be that he knew Greenscale? What if he did? "I call him Greenscale just because of his appearance, but he said he was alright with it."

"A talking Endermen with scaled green skin. Interesting, so he came after all." He whispered, mostly to no one in particular. Did Casroth know of the Endermen beforehand? What if he did? "Steve, I don't know your friend as you do, so I can't judge him in a negative way. However, can I ask you a serious question?" He nodded, unprepared for what was going to happen.

"Sure, shoot." His brother sighed and slowly moved his head to the side, as to avoid eye contact. He was still as he whispered words Steve never suspected to hear from the man he came to know as a brother. Words that haunted him. Words he dreaded to hear.

"Do you know the real reason why I died?"

* * *

She was freaking out and quite literally. Her hands shook so bad that she had a hard time wiping her teary eyes, her eyes were wide and wild as she looked down upon the man's face and above all, rain had started pouring down at an incredible speed and it looked as if a storm was brewing. A few times, he swore he saw large string of sparks fly off her skin before dissipating in the air.

"Solana? Are you alright?" Gideon asked. He had seen her face when she had removed the hood from the man's face. At first, he almost had a heart attack as well, as he had first thought the man was Master Herobrine, but he quickly realized that the man was a different person. Solana had seemed to recognize him quickly enough and had even said the name 'Steve'.

"No...No I'm not alright. I know him. He's a dear friend of mine." She started to calm down, but it seemed obvious that she was having a hard time dealing with it. Something was up. What could've happened to make her so emotional like this?

"Then shouldn't you be happy that he's here and you can see him? I don't understand your strong reaction to this." The Endermen looked at her with squinty emerald green eyes in a suspicious manner, then looked at Gideon. Why was he looking at them that way? Did he know something?

"I don't know." She paused, letting herself try and calm down while catching her breath. "Back at the castle..." She stopped and put her face in her hands, but peeked through to see the man's face again before hiding her face again. What was wrong with her?

"Solana! Tell me, why are you crying so much? I don't understand! He's here now, isn't he?" He snapped, trying to solve whatever mystery lay beneath the surface. He was trying to find what connection they had with each other and why she was so emotional. It bothered him to no end that she wasn't coming out with a straight answer.

Finally she snapped in return, the strong smell of ozone filling the room in a mere instant and sparks jumping off her skin. "It's because I saw him back at the castle. I saw his corpse hanging off the wall with a sword sticking out of his chest right outside my father's throne room! My father told me he was murdered by Herobrine, but I suspect he arranged it himself for him to be killed! That's why I know him. He was my closest friend and by far the nicest. That's why I'm emotional, Gideon! It's because I'm seeing a man I thought was dead still living and breathing in front of my very eyes!"

He stared in shock as she sunk back down and wept quietly, looking at the man and reaching out to brush a few strings of hair out of his eyes. He had no idea it was something like this. Now his thoughts wandered everywhere. A man who's supposed to be dead, but is still breathing, a talking Endermen with deadly black fog and green skin, his as well as the brother's return... What was going on in the world?

Another thing was nagging his mind. Was there a reason why Master Herobrine chose this talking green scaled Endermen as his henchmen? Was there a reason why he chose Gideon's greatest enemy? How did he even become friend with man, when man was the one to drive his species to near extinction?

Just who was this 'Steve' person?

* * *

Just outside the window, shrouded in the rain and the fog, a man with glowing white eyes stared at the house in amusement. Things were going just as he thought, but the only problem was that they were all either curious, suspicious, had hatred for each other or even wanted to solve a mystery about a loved one.

"Well, I can't say it wasn't fun." He mused to himself. He looked into the window, seeing the Endermen watching Gideon closely, as well as the princess Solana as they both looked at Steve with confusion and suspicion written all over their faces. "However, I might have overdone it with the lightning. It doesn't seem like she's noticed it yet, or if she has, doesn't know how to control it. What a pity."

He looked at all of them, then to the man on the bed. He was interesting all right. "And it seems like he's uncovering the real reason to. Another motivation for him to kill the king before his plan goes into action."

He turned his attention towards the now bickering group. It was quite surprising, as they were already arguing between themselves. Gideon obviously felt uncomfortable around the Endermen, as it was his greatest nemesis, and the princess seemed to believe him as a friend of hers, saying that if he was a friend of Steve's, then he was a friend of hers. What a weird logic. The Endermen seemed to be uncomfortable with that logic and tried to camouflage himself in a dark corner.

"I will see how this turns out. If anything goes wrong with our initial plan, I will have no choice but to intervene and do it my way." He said, louder than before. "Hear that, Brother?"

' **Yes, I heard you. But just to remind you, you came up with the initial outline of the plan and most of its actions. If anything goes wrong, you will have to deal with it unless absolutely nothing can be done. Do you understand that last part? It's important.** '

He flashed away from the small cottage and reappeared in a dark and dry environment. A single Standing Stone stood in front of him with a small necklace on it. "Yeah, I heard you. I get it. Well, I'll try and get things moving. It's getting a little boring."

' **Don't make a move on them, or else you risk dealing with the king. If they know where you are or know where you've been then-** '

"I know." He growled. "Don't worry, I'll only steer them in the right direction and keep myself hidden at all times."

' **Do I have your word for it?** '

"Yessss." He groaned, raising his hand and face-palming himself. What a worrier. Sometimes he hated working things out with his brother. He just worried too much.

' **Thank you. I appreciate it, Brother.** '

"No problem. Just don't worry so much over me. I can take care of myself, you know that." He stated.

 **'Yes, but after having been nearly killed, I can't help but worry over my little brother. It's only natural to care for a sibling and a loved one.** ' He was silent for a while, staring into the letters engraved on the stone with wonder.

"I promise I'll be careful, Brother." He said, and this time he meant it. He could almost see his brother's smile and smiled himself. After a while, he heard no response from his brother and assumed he had left the conversation. At least he was out of harm's way. He ran his fingers over the Standing Stone and sighed before teleporting away into the storm.

 **Well, I've got to say, this is a pretty cool chapter. I like it, to be honest. I'm sorry it took a little bit of time to write, but don't worry. I'll never give up on my stories no matter what, so don't bite my head off. By the way, I want to know what you guys think will happen. I'm kind of curious. Anyhoot, see you all later!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619 - The one and only.**


	16. Innocence, Casroth Greenfield

Chapter 16

 **OMGOMG! It's been so long! I'm SOOOOOoooo sorry! You are permitted to fume and seethe in anger at me, but I was only trying to reorganize my thoughts about all my stories. Also, Happy late Halloween, Christmas and New Year as well. I feel so bad for not uploading sooner. That's one of my New Year's resolutions, To write at least once a week or maybe every two weeks, but writing more is definitely on my list. Anyhow, good reading to everyone of my story followers and if you feel up to it, leave me a comment on my writing thus far. Read, review(if you wish) and love the story. Enjoy!**

 **...**

He couldn't believe his ears. After having known his brother for so long, he could practically guess what he'd say even before he'd say it, but this? He never expected this from his closest and most trusted friend-no. Not friend. They had surpassed that term a long time ago. They were brothers, now and forever-to even say something like that in casual conversation.

He looked at his brother, a nervous feeling slowly itching its way in his chest. "What do you mean? I know how you died, I held you in my arms when you..." He lowered his voice, he slowly turned his gaze to something else, most likely the floor, but his gaze was drawn back by his brothers eyes. "...when you passed away." Steve attempted to look away again, but his brothers clear blue eyes wouldn't let him. His brother sighed; it was soft, almost unheard and it gave Steve the creeps. That nervous feeling was rising steadily, almost enough to suffocate him.

"Avoiding the subject won't help, Steve." He pressed, looking down at his plate on the table but not touching anything, not even his fork. He tried a different approach. "Do you remember that song we performed a little while ago? The one everybody loved right off the bat?"

"Yeah, I remember. We called that one _Demons_. It was a fun experience to see people singing along one last time." Steve sighed, using the fork to play with the food on his plate. He remembered that day perfectly. They had sang out their most popular songs on stage, with the added bonus of a new song no one had heard before. Steve had only heard Casroth sing bits and pieces of it a few times in his room and had even participated when Cas had asked him to join him play the song with him, telling him how great it was going to be and how it would be a special surprise for everyone.

"That wasn't its intended purpose, you know." Cas broke through Steve's thoughts and gave a small smile. "That song, the one about the demons, was meant to warn people."

Steve stopped playing with his food and looked up at his brother. "Warn them? Against who, the king?" He said a little sarcastically, hoping the mood would lighten a little. His brother, sitting across from him, nodded slowly and Steve was taken aback. He didn't expect it to be an actual answer.

"Precisely. I was trying to give them clues about the kings plan." He cast a quick glance at Steve, then turned his attention to the food on his plate, picking up his utensils and cutting off a piece of steak, chomping down on it, but without any appetite.

"If that's what you intended, then I don't think it worked too well; I doubt anyone even took the time to study the lyrics carefully, or even cared for that matter. I didn't even know until now." Steve protested. But he couldn't help thinking. _What if someone cared enough, though? What would happen to them? Would they even understand what the words meant?_

Cas chuckled lightly, but without any real laughter. It was forced, as if he was trying to lighten the mood without really meaning or trying to. "It's more than that, Steve." He stuffed another piece of steak in his mouth and chewed on it, but still without any appetite.

He continued after swallowing his steak, his blue eyes settling on Steve's violet ones. "No, some people actually took the time to look at the lyrics carefully, but not all of them understand what they mean. There are actually more meanings in that song than I could probably count, but I do know there are two main ones."

"So, you're trying to say that they get the general idea, but can't link it to the king's plan 'cause they don't know, right?" His brother smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yes, more or less. Most of the population doesn't know about the kings plan, which is why they don't get the message. We just count for a very small percentage of the whole that actually knows." Cas said. He began cutting into the other half of his steak. "But..."

"But?" Steve urged. He knew Cas was going to add something, but he didn't like the suspense. It was almost suffocating him as much as his stress and developing anxiety was.

"But..." He continued, lifting his fork to examine the piece of steak he had impaled. "There's only one person that I've found other than you who'd figured it out and kept her mouth shut about it."

One person came to mind about it, but Steve discarded it immediately. It had been forever since he last saw her. The last time was probably just before Cas' tragic departure. He didn't remember the exact words they'd said to each other, but he still remembered her face. Clear and reflective as a still pool of water and just as beautiful as a winter rose, which is said to be extremely beautiful in the winter biomes these flowers bloomed in.

Cas chuckled lightly, drawing Steve's attention back to him as he shook his head. "No, Steve, it's not the princess either. She's another miner like you. She doesn't stick around town much, but she's heard enough from the rumors running around all the kingdoms that she's already figured out a good portion of what's going to go down. She even extended her mining work in order to find He-, who the king's looking for."

"What's her name? I don't think I've met her on any of my outings." He asked curiously, twisting the fork in his hand and looking up to his brother, blushing. Almost in a shy manner.

"You don't have to be shy about it." Cas pointed out. He then moved on. "Her name's Alex. She doesn't stick around any town much as I've said before, but I've seen her wandering around the gates of _our_ kingdom lately." He said the word in a sour way, displaying his hate for a moment. This behaviour surprised Steve, as he's never really seen Cas get angry at anything before. "She's trying to find a way in and spy on the king, maybe even kill him. I'm not entirely sure, yet." He paused, looking at Steve to see his expression.

"Hmm." He mused. "Are you suggesting something? I doubt she would be able to pull it off on her own."

Cas smiled. "Well, she managed to kill a few of the guards that stood at the gates. Technically, it was more than a few. She's smart, Steve. She killed rookies, sergeants, colonels, even commanders. She drew them out, one at a time. She's cunning. Ruthless, even. She weakened the kingdoms defenses, weakened the army. She planned out her actions and even the enemies moves. She could very well kill the king if she got anywhere near him."

"So...?" Steve urged, spinning his fork around to show his confusion as to where Cas was going with this conversation, hoping for some clarification.

"Don't be impatient, brother." Cas heaved a small sigh, chewing on his eggs. After he swallowed he continued. "When you meet her, you have to be prepared. I'll guide you to her, but I can't speak for you. You have to somehow convince her that she can trust you. It would be quite the act if you managed to get in the castle and somehow murdered the king. I hope that if you did this, you might be able to stop his crazed Highness from murdering a legend. An immortal legend, not to mention that you still have no idea where he might be."

"What do you mean? Whoa. Whoa. Hold on." Steve put his fingers to his temple and rested his elbows on the table, thinking, reflecting. ' _Where he might be? Does that mean that Cas knows where he is? Who_ is _he? Then again, it seems like he knows where this 'Alex' is too. He seems to know a lot about the outside world even though he's, well, not really a part of it anymore._ ' He felt bad for saying that last part, but he had to face the truth. He had to get over it somehow. Maybe visiting his Standing Stone again would clear his head.

When he looked over at Cas again, he noticed that he looked sad, lightly shaking his head. Then he got up and made walked over until he was an arm's length away from his brother. Steve looked guilty of something, and even though Cas knew why, he didn't question it.

"If that's what you think might be good then I won't keep you here any longer." Cas said, his eyes flashing a very light shade of white for a split second as he placed his hand on Steve's head. "But, there is one thing I would like for you to do something. Don't worry, it's pretty simple." He clarified. He then took a deep breath and then softened his expressions enough to weave a gentle smile on his facial features. "I would like it if you took the pendant from the stone you made for me."

"Looky here." Cas mused, his eyes flashing white for a second time. "I think your friends want you back now. I said everything that will help you... for now. Remember, take my pendant from the stone. I'm pretty sure it will help you in the long run. And Steve?"

"Yeah?" Steve mumbled hesitantly. Everything was starting to get confusing, but he decided to roll with it and find out. Honestly, he wanted sooner than later, but it was evident later was the better option in this case.

"Whatever happens don't forget me. Please?"

* * *

"Steve? Helloooooooo? You awake yet?" A familiar voice whispered, somewhere close to his ears.

"Let him sleep, Solana. It's not like he can hear you." A tired, almost annoyed male sounding voice he didn't recognize replied.

"Shut up, horse man! Look with your human eyes for once, he's moving!" The girl snapped sarcastically, but it seemed to be shot more in defense than for the hell of it, unless it was both.

"I'm just saying. Besides, why does his Endermen _bodyguard_ have to breathe down my neck twenty four-seven? I don't remember having done anything to piss him off today. Hell, ever since he's been here he's been staring at me in a way that tells me 'move and I'll have a reason to kill you.' Seriously, if you can do anything, make him stop! It's creepy!" The man kept rambling nonsense about Steve's Endermen friend and he forced his eyes open a little, just to see the scene for himself.

"Then stop looking at him! How can you be that stupid? If I'm not mistaken, you said that you thought he was eying you to give you some sort of secret message that told you he'd kill you if you moved, now I'm pretty sure he's going to murder you with all that flailing and complaining you're doing." The girl, Solana, said, almost crying out in frustration and intense annoyance. Something was shuffled, then everything was silence, except the soft, almost whining-like noise that ran continuously, until it stopped right beside him.

" _Vlurp?_ "

Steve fully opened his eyes and smiled lightly as Greenscale pushed his face closer to his own, almost obscuring Steve's vision in a show of concern. He saw a man huffing in his peripheral vision, but in less than a second Greenscale had whirled on him and was hissing furiously, his eyes lighting up and some sort of black cloud was slowly forming around him.

"Greenscale! Whoa! Whoa..." Instantly, Steve sprang out of bed to try and resolve whatever problem had arisen when he was out of it for god knows how long and tried to break up the dispute. But as soon as he was standing his vision swam and his legs were wobbly, barely holding up his weight. He would've fallen face first into the floor if it weren't for Greenscale's fast reaction and long arms.

" _Vlurp, vlurp?_ " He asked, looking down at me with concerned emerald green eyes. He seemed to want to know why Steve had fallen, and just as he was thinking this, he heard his voice in his head. ' _Are you alright? Why have you fallen? Are you injured?_ '

Feeling obliged to answer, Steve smiled, feeling all eyes suddenly land on him. "Nah, I'm fine. I just stood up too fast. Besides, why were you angry at that man? Whoever he is..." The man, who was standing behind Greenscale, scoffed and walked over somewhat cautiously to Solana's side, which Steve only just noticed was sitting behind him in a chair, her face laced with worry. Greenscale then helped Steve back onto the bed, wrapping an arm over him protectively as the man passed by them.

"Are you sure? You were out for a little while there." She said, slowly standing up and creeping forward, cautious of the Endermen no doubt. But when Steve looked back at his friend, he noticed that he wasn't getting agitated at Solana, (which was hard to do as her eyes were watering) he just seemed to be uncomfortable and he kept glancing at the other man with a dangerous glint in his eye.

' _What is with you and that man?_ ' Steve thought, but before Greenscale could respond, Solana wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and stuffed her face between his shoulder and neck, her chest heaving in uncontrollable sobs as she kept murmuring incomprehensible words he had trouble making out until he actually focused on them.

"Ithoughtyouweredead... Ithoughtyouweredead...Theytoldmeyouweredead... HEtoldmeyouweredead... I'msoglad... I'm so glad..." She gasped out the last part in a more controlled and understandable manner and he wondered what in the nether was happening. Unsure how to respond, he just hugged her back. It was good to see an old friend again, but why was he feeling tingly? Oh, well. Might be a thunder storm tonight.

"I'm glad to see you too." He said, tightening his own hug around his childhood friend. He really did miss her in the years he had left the kingdom. He rested his head on her own, looking out one of the many windows of his house. As he stared out the window, he could see the wind blowing, brushing the grass and whistling between the branches of the trees that surrounded his little house. As he looked out, he thought he saw a figure in the underbrush, but when he blinked it was gone.

' _What is wrong, Steve?_ ' Greenscale asked, looking intently at Steve. He seemed to have noticed Steve's intense staring and sudden stiffness, but Steve brushed it off by leaning deeper into the cuddle. ' _You look like you have seen a ghost, which is unlikely, but still possible._ '

Steve looked at his friend, eyes narrowed in slight confusion, trying to suppress a laugh. "What is that supposed to mean? You said it was unlikely but then you contradicted yourself by saying it _was_ actually a possibility? I don't see how that works." He then chuckled a little, trying to ease the tension in the air, Solana soon following, giving half-hearted chuckles and snorts. "But, nah. I'm fine. Just my eyes playing tricks on me. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Right when he was about to say something to the new guy, who was strangely wearing a large caramel coloured trench coat, he felt a tingling sensation somewhere inside him and when he looked out the window, the faded person he had seen before was back, but they were right next to the window, staring right at him. And it seemed like no one else could see it- or him.

 _ **Don't forget, Steve. Please.**_

 **...**

 **I hope I did a good job on this chapter. And just a heads up to all my readers, I am thinking of either extending this story to try to add more detail on the character development, cause I feel like the story is a bit rushed on the development of the characters and maybe the story line, so I'll really need everyone's opinion on that. It would help me a lot if I knew what could be added and what could be changed to make the story better.**

 **Anyways, thanks. Toodles!**

 **-NilakantaDragonQueen619, the one and only.**


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